The DMCA's unintended consequences

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has released version 4 of their "Unintended Consequences" document, which details problematic side effects arising out of the oft-maligned Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Much of the criticism is targeted specifically at section 1201 of the act, which is targeted at circumvention of copyright protection systems.

Finally, a number of respected foreign engineers and scientists boycotted trips to the US, citing the possibility of their own work drawing fire under the DMCA. In response, some conferences traditionally held on American soil were relocated to sites outside of the US to allay concerns.

It must be pointed out that the 15-page document covers far more than the Sklyarov case. Among other things, the DMCA has been invoked to censor publication of information, prevent fair use (PDF) of copyrighted material, stifle competition to the detriment of consumers, stop Sony's Aibo robot dog from dancing, and end RealNetworks' iPod compatibility.