AA DMCA Survey

"The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) seriously impedes the creation of multimedia e-books. While fair use allows authors to use copyrighted footage for purposes like criticism, commentary, and education, the DMCA makes it illegal physically access digital versions of that material, such as from a DVD or video streaming websites, when that copyrighted footage is protected by encryption measures. For example, while fair use rules allows an author to use a clip from the movie 'The Artist' to highlight lighting techniques used in modern black and white movies, the DMCA makes the process of physically taking the clip from the movie illegal. As such, while the author is allowed to use the clip, they have no legal means of extracting the clip from the DVD of the movie. Fortunately, the DMCA has an exemptions process that can be used to permit individuals to access the works they need. Certain multimedia e-book authors have one now—but it’s about to expire. That's why Authors Alliance and a host of authors and organizations are fighting for a new exemption that will allow multimedia e-book authors to access the clips they need from DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and digital streaming services. The Copyright Office places a heavy emphasis on stories from creators who have been harmed by the DMCA in the past or are likely to be harmed in the future. In order to show the Copyright Office how important access to encrypted media is to e-book authors, please take 3 minutes to answer the following questions. Thank you for your help in this fight to preserve our fair use rights! ..."