On March 4th, the Obama administration commented on one of the most wacky parts of copyright law—the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provision and its mandated triennial rulemaking proceeding—by agreeing with the signers of a White House petition that “consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties.” You may be wondering what your cell phone has to do with copyright law, so here’s a primer (PDF) on the issue prepared by ALA’s copyright legislative counsel, Jonathan Band. This is as wonky as it gets, so put on your nerdiest glasses before reading.
About Carrie Russell
Carrie Russell is the director for OITP's Program on Public Access to Information. Since 1999, Carrie has developed copyright education programs and related services to help ALA members understand the latest trends regarding copyright law and its impact on libraries.
