Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Long title	To amend title 17, United States Code, to implement the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty and Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	DM, DMCA
Enacted by	the 105th United States Congress
Effective	October 28, 1998
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 105-304
Statutes at Large	112 Stat. 2860 (1998)
Codification
Acts amended	Copyright Act of 1976
Titles amended	5 (Government Organization and Employees); 17 (Copyrights); 28 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure); 35 (Patents)
U.S.C. sections created	17 U.S.C. §§ 512, 1201–1205, 1301–1332; 28 U.S.C. § 4001
U.S.C. sections amended	17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 104, 104A, 108, 132, 114, 117, 701
Legislative history
Introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 2281 by Howard Coble (R-NC) on July 29, 1997 Committee consideration by House Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property); House Commerce Committee(Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection) Passed the House on August 4, 1998 (voice vote) Passed the Senate on September 17, 1998 (unanimous consent) Reported by the joint conference committee on October 8, 1998; agreed to by the Senate on October 8, 1998 (consent) and by the House on October 12, 1998 (voice vote) Signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a copyright law that protects copyright on the internet in the U.S.A. This Act was passed by the United States Congress in 1998.

It puts into effect two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and distribution of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent (get around) measures which control access to copyrighted works. These "measures" are commonly known as digital rights management or DRM.

The WIPO Copyright Treaty is the basis of protecting copyright on the web.