Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

U.S. statute (Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-304, 112 Stat. 2860 (Oct. 28, 1998)) intended to render illegal the supply of tools and software designed to circumvent copy-protection and other anti-copyright infringement features (17 USC § 1201 et seq.) and raised penalties for Internet-based copyright infringement while limiting ISP liability (17 USC § 512), as well as adding to U.S. law legal protection for boat hull-forms (17 USC § 1301). The DMCA has been held not to preclude reverse engineering. A key aspect of the DMCA is that it provides a safe-harbor from patent infringement claims for Internet website hosts if they response reasonably diligently to a Takedown Notice

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