Copyright Office Agrees to Continue DMCA Exemptions for Smart TVs, Medical Devices

[Software Freedom Conservancy]

URL: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2017/oct/30/dmca-exemptions-renewed/

    Copyright Office Agrees to Continue DMCA Exemptions for Smart TVs,
Medical Devices

On Friday the US Copyright Office published a proposed rulemaking to
renew all existing exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
(DMCA).  Activities covered by exemptions cannot be prosecuted as
criminal acts under the law.  Two exemptions slated for renewal are one
proposed by Conservancy to allow people to install new firmware on smart
TVs they own; and one advocated by Conservancy executive director Karen
Sandler to allow security researchers to evaluate medical devices.

Under the DMCA, the Copyright Office is tasked with soliciting and
approving proposed exemptions to the law every three years.  Conservancy
previously proposed and won the smart TVs exemption to allow people to
install free software TV firmware like SamyGO.  Sandler was part of a
coalition with Harvard University's Cyberlaw Clinic to win an exemption
that allows people to passively investigate medical devices that aren't
implanted in people for potential security issues.  Conservancy and the
coalition petitioned for the renewal of both as part of this year's
rulemaking process.

Sandler commented, "The anticircumvention provisions of the DMCA are
overbearing and continue to hamper the development of ethical
technology.  The exemptions process at least gives us one opportunity to
protect some of the most important work being done by developers and
technology users today.  Three years is not much time for new
development to mature.  We're glad that the Copyright Office recognizes
that and continues to exempt this important work on smart TVs and
medical devices from criminalization."

Fred Jennings, attorney at Tor Ekeland, P.C. and pro bono counsel to
Conservancy on the matter commented, "We're happy to see the Office saw
through the opponents' baseless assertions about infringing use, and
made good on its statement that renewals would be granted unless new
reasons for opposition were shown."

You can read Conservancy's petition to renew the smart TV exception at
<https://sfconservancy.org/docs/2017-08-01_1201-exemption-renewal.pdf>.

Relevant links:
  Proposed rulemaking:
<https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/10/26/2017-23038/exemptions-to-permit-circumvention-of-access-controls-on-copyrighted-works>
  SamyGO: <http://www.samygo.tv/>

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