Want to stay current on e–commerce law? Sign up for Email Newsletter.
Movie Studios Bring Action over Movies on iPods
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has filed a lawsuit against Load ‘N Go Video in the Federal District Court of New York for violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Load ‘N Go Video sells DVD movies and personal media players to its customers, and then will load movies from one onto the other. The MPAA claims that this process is illegal as it involves circumventing DVD copy prevention technology, which is forbidden under the DMCA. The MPAA also claims this process is copyright infringement.
This lawsuit raises the question of whether consumers are free to transfer content to different media for their personal use, or whether they are obligated to purchase new copies of the same content for each new medium. Canada’s fair dealing exceptions differ from the fair use exceptions which apply in the U.S., so the lawsuit might proceed differently in the U.S. than it would in Canada (also, Canada does not yet have anti-circumvention laws such as the DMCA). Further, Canadian legislation already allows the copying of musical recordings to different media for personal use; essentially the same issue (albeit for different types of content) in dispute in the MPAA case.
For additional information, visit: