Legal Definitions - WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act

The WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act is a key piece of U.S. copyright law, enacted as part of the larger Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in 1998. WIPO stands for the World Intellectual Property Organization.

This Act was passed to update U.S. law to comply with two international treaties signed under WIPO: the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. Its primary goal is to provide legal protection for copyrighted works in the digital environment, specifically by addressing two main areas:

• Anti-Circumvention (Section 1201): This part makes it illegal to bypass or "circumvent" technological measures (like encryption, password protection, or digital rights management systems) that control access to copyrighted works. It also prohibits the manufacturing, importing, or selling of devices or services primarily designed to enable such circumvention. This applies even if the act of accessing the work itself might not be a direct copyright infringement; the act of bypassing the protective technology is a separate violation.
• Copyright Management Information (Section 1202): This section makes it illegal to intentionally remove, alter, or provide false "copyright management information" (CMI). CMI includes details like the title, author, copyright owner, terms and conditions for use, and identifying numbers or symbols that are attached to a copyrighted work.

In essence, the Act aims to protect the digital "locks" that copyright owners put on their works and the information that identifies those works and their creators.

Here are some examples to illustrate how this Act applies:

• Example 1: Bypassing Software Protection

  A software company develops a popular video game that requires an online authentication check every time it's launched to ensure the user has a legitimate license. A group of programmers creates and distributes a "crack" program that bypasses this authentication system, allowing users to play the game without purchasing a valid license. The distribution of this "crack" program would violate the WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act because it is a tool designed to circumvent a technological measure (the authentication system) that controls access to a copyrighted work (the video game).

• Example 2: Altering Digital Watermarks on Images

  A professional photographer uploads a portfolio of their landscape images to a stock photo website. Each image file contains an embedded digital watermark and metadata indicating the photographer's name, copyright year, and contact information. An unauthorized user downloads these images, uses image editing software to remove the digital watermarks and metadata, and then uploads them to their own website, claiming them as their original work. The act of intentionally removing or altering the digital watermarks and metadata (which constitute Copyright Management Information) would be a violation of Section 1202 of the Act.

• Example 3: Selling Devices to Unlock Streaming Content

  A major movie studio offers its latest films through a subscription streaming service, protected by strong encryption and geo-blocking technology that restricts access to users within specific countries. A company begins manufacturing and selling "decryption boxes" specifically advertised to bypass the streaming service's encryption and geo-blocking, enabling users in any country to access the content without a valid subscription. The manufacturing and sale of these "decryption boxes" would violate Section 1201 of the Act because they are devices primarily designed to circumvent technological measures that effectively control access to copyrighted audiovisual works.