Number: RL32692
Title: Anticircumvention under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Reverse Engineering: Recent Legal Developments
Authors: Robin Jeweler, American Law Division 
Abstract: This report examines two recent decisions from U.S. Courts of Appeals, Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., 387 F.3d 522 (6th Cir. 2004), and Chamberlain Group, Inc. v. Skylink Technologies, Inc., 381 F.3d 1178 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Both cases allege violation of the anticircumvention statute with respect to development and sale of consumer goods. In Lexmark, the defendant marketed a microchip that allowed third-party manufacturers to sell toner cartridges that worked with the plaintiffs printer. In Chamberlain, the defendant sold a universal garage door opener transmitter that worked with the plaintiffs garage door opener. In both cases, the courts found that the actions of the defendants did not violate the anticircumvention provisions of the DMCA. In doing so, the courts had to reconcile closely related aspects of copyright law with the strictures of the DMCA.
Pages: 15
Date: December 10, 2004