Universal Garage Door Opener not subject to DMCA provisions

Declan McCullagh at Cnet News is one of the best tech-law reporters on the scene.  In his recent report on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) case Chamberlain v. Skylink, McCullagh begins:

A federal appeals court has reaffirmed what might seem obvious: Replacement garage door openers are legal to sell.

More particularly, a Federal Circuit Appellate Panel found that the encrypted code that allows your garage door receiver to recognize a signal from your remote control opener is not subject to copyright law — and thus not subject to the DMCA.

The so called “anticircumvention provision” of the DMCA bars attempts to circumvent technological measures that are put in place to control access to copyrighted works.  In this case, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal because the encrypted code garnered no underlying copyright protection.

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