Petition the Copyright Office for Your Digital Rights

When you bought your car, did you ask whether copyright law would prevent you from bringing it to your local (non-dealer) repair shop to get it fixed? When you bought your phone, did you consider whether copyright law might prevent you from taking it with you if you ever decide to switch carriers? When you bought your TV, did you think about whether you’d one day find yourself unable to update the apps on it due to—you guessed it—copyright law?

Unless you’re already immersed in the nitty gritty details of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), at this point you’re probably scratching your head. Because who would think that copyright law of all things would interfere with who can fix your car?

That, in a nutshell, summarizes the problem with Section 1201 of the DMCA. When the DMCA was passed in 1998, 1201 was included as a way to make it more difficult for lawbreakers to commit acts of digital piracy. But unfortunately it was written so broadly, it arguably outlaws a broad range of activities that Congress didn’t mean to interfere with. Capitalizing on its overbreadth, opportunistic companies have used it to try to defeat run-of-the-mill marketplace competition—competition that would otherwise diversify consumer choice and lower prices. For example, a printer manufacturer sued under 1201 to try to prevent the marketing of third-party printer cartridges compatible with its printers. A garage door opener manufacturer sued under 1201 to try to prevent the marketing of universal transmitters compatible with its garage door openers. And a video console manufacturer sued under 1201 to try to prevent the marketing of third-party accessories compatible with its video consoles.

The best way to rein in this overreaching copyright law would be to simply amend it so that it doesn’t interfere with activities that have nothing to do with copyright infringement. Until we can do that, though, the Copyright Office is exercising its ability to grant exemptions to 1201 for limited sets of activities that don’t infringe copyright. And the Copyright Office wants to hear from you. To help with that process, our friends over at the Digital Right to Repair Coalition have put together a quick and easy-to-use form. Please take two minutes to go there now, fill it out, and let the Copyright Office know that you want the right to repair and modify the electronics you own.

Send your comments to the Copyright Office here.