To address some unique digital copyright issues, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was passed into law in 1998. The DMCA contains anti-circumvention and copyright management information provisions, which aid copyright owners in protecting their digital content.

The DMCA’s anti-circumvention provisions guard against specific, proactive and unauthorized efforts to bypass or avoid technology used to control access to or restrict re-use of copyright-protected work. Technological measures include using a password or encrypting a work. Breaking that password or encryption may violate the DMCA.

Copyright management information includes the title of a work, its author or copyright holder and other identifying information. Intentionally removing or altering such information may also violate the DMCA.

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