Digital Copyright Act Explained

The Digital Copyright Act (DCA)^[1] is a proposed United States copyright law that amends revision of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).^[2]

The proposed law introduces the term "notice and stay down" for service providers.^[3] It requires them to take measures to prevent material that has already been determined to be violating copyright to be re-uploaded by users. While the draft was praised by the entertainment industry, free speech advocacy groups feared the language would require services to employ automatic filtering and would further limit freedom of expression.^[4]

Currently a draft, the bill is planned to be introduced to Congress by Senator Thom Tillis.^[5]

Notes and References

1. News: Senator Tillis Releases Draft DMCA Modernization Bill. 29 March 2021. IPWatchdog.com Patents & Patent Law. 22 December 2020.
2. News: Balderston. Michael. Updated Digital Copyright Act Brought Before Congress. 29 March 2021. TVTechnology. 23 December 2020. en.
3. News: Authors Alliance Responds to Draft Digital Copyright Act of 2021. 19 May 2021. Authors Alliance. 2021-03-08.
4. News: Maddaus. Gene. Sen. Thom Tillis Proposes 'Notice and Stay Down' Rewrite of Online Copyright Law. 21 May 2021. Variety. 2020-12-22.
5. News: Tillis Releases Landmark Discussion Draft to Reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. 29 March 2021. Thom Tillis, U.S. Senator for North Carolina. 22 December 2020. en.