How did the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 strengthen protection for digital copyrighted works?

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 strengthened protections for digital copyrighted works by expanding the control copyright owners have over their digital creations.12

Key provisions of the act include:

• Anti-Circumvention Measures: The DMCA prohibits the development and distribution of technologies designed to bypass digital rights management (DRM) or other technological shields, such as encryption, that protect copyrighted material.12
• Access Control: It makes the act of circumventing these technological measures to access copyrighted works illegal.1
• Expanded Control: By penalizing the evasion of these digital barriers, the law effectively grants owners greater authority over how their digital content is accessed and used.2

While these measures were intended to protect intellectual property, they have also sparked controversy. Critics argue that the DMCA can curtail traditional "fair use" rights, as consumers may be prevented from engaging in activities that were previously permitted under copyright law. Furthermore, the application of the DMCA has extended to various products containing software, leading to debates over whether such protections unfairly limit the rights of consumers to repair or modify the property they own.21