DMCA Exemptions Expanded: Christopher Perez Talks with Daily Journal on Documentary Filmmakers’ Newest Victory

The U.S. Copyright Office recently expanded documentary filmmakers’ Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) exemptions to include access to Blu-ray content. Previously, even material in accordance to fair use could not be extracted from copyrighted work on Blu-rays. Partner Christopher Perez, who was an integral part of the group that fought to expand the exemption, says that “Before these updates, the practical challenges of how to acquire content impeded fair use rights.”

“Blue-ray is slowly replacing DVD on the home video market and we wanted to make sure filmmakers were able to get the high quality material they needed to get their film distributed,” he adds. “None of the opponents of our exemption request have ever presented any evidence that narrative or documentary filmmakers taking advantage of fair use have damaged the existing licensing market. We’ll be back in three years and hopefully we’ll have enough evidence at that point to satisfy what the U.S. Copyright Office wants to see.”