Damages under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

AuthorEric M. Stahl - Henry J. Tashman
Pages77-87
I. Overview
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), enacted in 1998,
addresses a variety of issues related to digital works and online uses.
The statute prohibits, among other things, activity that circumvents
copy-protection technologies, as well as the removal or alteration of
“copyright management information” (CMI) from copyrighted works.
The remedies for circumvention and CMI violations are found in 17
U.S.C. § 1203. They include plaintiff’s actual damages, defendant’s prof-
its, and statutory damages. But, as discussed in section II.B below, the
calculation of DMCA damages differs from the calculation of the analo-
gous remedies applicable to copyright infringement under section 504.
Separately, section 512 of the DMCA provides online service provid-
ers with “safe harbor” immunity from infringement liability as long
as they implement and follow statutory takedown procedures. As dis-
cussed in section III below, the DMCA provides a cause of action for
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CHAPTER 5
Damages under the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act
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