RL32035
Copyright Law: Digital Rights Management Legislation
December 18, 2003

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Summary:

Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to the technology that copyright owners use to protect digital media. This report surveys several of the DRM bills that were introduced in the 107th Congress and those that are pending in the 108th Congress. Generally, the bills are directed at two separate goals. One goal is to increase access to digitally-protected media for lawful purposes. The other attempts to thwart digital piracy and would do so by enhancing civil and criminal sanctions for digital copyright infringement and educating the public about the rights of copyright holders. Although no bills were enacted during the 107th Congress, two of the bills focusing on access have been reintroduced in the 108th Congress. Representatives Boucher and Lofgren reintroduced their bills from the 107th Congress. They are H.R. 107, the "Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2003" and H.R. 1066, respectively. H.R. 1066 is renamed the "Benefit Authors without Limiting Advancement or Net Consumer Expectations (BALANCE) Act of 2003." And Senator Wyden introduced S. 692, a labeling disclosure bill entitled the "Digital Consumers Right to Know Act." Bills addressing piracy include H.R. 2517, the "Piracy Deterrence and Education Act of 2003"; H.R. 2752, the "Author, Consumer, and Computer Owner Protection and Security Act of 2003"; H.R. 3632, the "Anti-counterfeiting Amendments of 2003"; and, S. 1932, the "Artists Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2003." S. 1621, the "Consumers, Schools, and Libraries Digital Management Awareness Act of 2003," introduced by Senator Brownback, addresses several DRM issues. It would prohibit the Federal Communication Commission from establishing mandatory technology standards and require disclosure requirements for access controlled digital media and consumer electronics. It also addresses the subpoena process by which copyright owners acquire personal information about suspected infringers.