Cybersecurity Law, 2nd Edition

Appendix C Text of Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, examined in Chapter 5, restricts the circumvention of controls that protect copyrighted materials. In practice, this can create significant obstacles for cybersecurity researchers who seek to test software for vulnerabilities. Here is the full text of Section 1201.

17 U.S.C. §1201. Circumvention of copyright protection systems

1. Violations Regarding Circumvention of Technological Measures.
   1. 1. (A) No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall take effect at the end of the 2‐year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this chapter.
      2. The prohibition contained in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to persons who are users of a copyrighted work which is in a particular class of works, if such persons are, or are likely to be in the succeeding 3‐year period, adversely affected by virtue of such prohibition in their ability to make noninfringing uses of that particular class of works under this title, as determined under subparagraph (C).
      3. During the 2‐year period described in subparagraph (A), and during each succeeding 3‐year period, the Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, who shall consult with the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department ...