Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was created in 1998. The DMCA combined and advanced two existing worldwide copyright treaties known as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties. The two treaties are; the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The United States seen a need to improve upon these treaties and in October of 1998 President Clinton signed the DMCA into law.
The DMCA makes it illegal to download, upload, and/or share copyrighted material over any network. The Cable Co-op must follow and enforce the laws of the DMCA.
What is considered “copyrighted”
- The Copyright Act now reaches architectural design, software, the graphic arts, motion pictures, and sound recordings.
- As of January 1, 1978, all works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression and within the subject matter of copyright were deemed to fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Copyright Act.
- Copyright protection subsists in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression.
- To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be “fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” This means that the work must exist in some physical form for at least some period of time, no matter how brief. Virtually any form of expression will qualify as a tangible medium, including a computer’s random access memory (RAM), the recording media that capture all radio and television broadcasts, and the scribbled notes on the back of an envelope that contain the basis for an impromptu speech. –
- See more at: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/faqs/copyright-basics/#sthash.cFahLYcn.dpuf
Who monitors the internet?
- Usually it is larger companies with a lot of copyrighted works to protect, such as HBO, Paramount, and many adult material based companies.
- These companies hire an entity for the sole reason of internet monitoring.
