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The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the district court summary judgement decision in Chamberlain v. Skylink, which had held a third party garage door opener manufacturer not liable under the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (codified at 17 USC 1201). My sharply critical take on the district court case can be found on LawMeme (Judge Asserts Pseudo Distinction to Preserve DMCA). The case went to the Federal Circuit for some complicated jurisdictional issues regarding patent law that I won't address. via Patently Obvious This is the most important DMCA decision since the MPAA DeCSS case decided by the Second Circuit in Universal v. Corley. The decision includes a lengthy, at times inspiring, at times frustrating, analysis of the purpose and structure of the DMCA anti-circumvention provisions. In the end, the court determines that a strict construction of the statute would lead to absurdities as many of the DMCA's critics have argued. In order to solve this problem, the court creates out of the complicated language of the DMCA a balancing test that is not strictly defined, but apparently reconciles Corley with Skylink. Among other things, the balancing test makes the distinction between � 1201(a) and � 1201(b) liability quite murky, and puts the whole reason for DMCA exemptions under the Copyright Office into question. This is a complicated decision, and there are no clear answers to many questions, however, it is a critically important one for innovation, creativity and the future of copyright law. It is sure to be extensively debated and discussed in the coming weeks, months and even years. Read the 45-page appellate decision: Chamberlain Group, Inc. v. Skylink Technologies, Inc. [PDF] at: http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/Chamberlain_v_Skylink.pdf -- You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
