As the deadline approaches for public comment on the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the US, experts are offering advice on how to persuade the feds to allow exemptions that change access controls on digital media.
The Copyright Office is accepting comments on the law, which makes it illegal to copy digital entertainment and imposes restrictions that some users say violate their fair-use rights. A comment form is available online and must be submitted by December 18.
The office received 235 comments in 2000 during the first review of the DMCA, says Rob Kasunic, a senior attorney in the Copyright Office. Congress mandated a review process every three years upon approving the law in 1998. However, only two of those hundreds of comments in 2000 resulted in new exemptions, Kasunic says