In essence, one can change the bit stream of a file and leave no record that it has been altered. Smith, supra , at 6. This level of authenticity may not be routinely necessary to most researchers, but it is important to keep in mind that this distinguishes digital media from true preservation media for archival purposes. 1201, et seq. , was adopted as part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Pub. The DMCA adds legal force to previously privately enforced contractual clauses.
Exemptions are few.
When the U.S. Copyright Office initiated a rulemaking proceeding to evaluate the nature and scope of possible exemptions from prohibitions on circumvention of access controls, commercial interests aggressively challenged any proposed exemptions. See 65 Fed. In its Final Rule, the Copyright Office describes concerns that Congress had in the development of marketplace realities that could restrict access to copyrighted materials in the digital environment. Possible measures that might lead to such an outcome included the elimination of print or other hard-copy versions, permanent encryption of all electronic copies and adoption of business models that restrict distribution and availability of works. The authors would certainly appear to have incentives to assist in devising a fair system of remuneration.