Digital+Millennium+Copyright+Act

**__Digital Millennium Copyright Act__**

What does the law cover/ where does the law exist/ who does it protect?

The DMCA (Digital millennium copyright act) is a copyright law that was first implemented in 1998. Its aim was mainly to prevent the copying, and distribution of copyrighted information, specifically pertaining to intellectual digital property on the internet. This law was first practiced in the United States of America, where Bill Clinton signed off the approval to pass the law, and was in practice from October, 28, 1998.

An example of who this law affected was the popular ‘Napster’ which was shut down after the law applied to its falsified distribution of music, which was not licensed.

This law, prevents the distribution of information pertaining to an individual’s personal information. Additionally it enables specific people to be criminalized and penalized for breaching or infringing the copyright law, falsely distributing protected information. In May 2001, the EU finally passed a similar law titled the EUCD, which protected everyone within the EU.

What are the consequences?

Penalties of breaching this law include a fine between can be a fine of 5,000 dollars or over depending on the amount of infringements, and up to 20 years in jail.

A relevant news article

[] - Apple loses big, jailbreaking is ‘fair’