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The Garage Door Opener Case: Opening the Door to Cross Platform Functionality in the World of Digital Music

Introduction

Copyright law embodies the delicate "balance between the interests of authors [in controlling the exploitation of their works] on the one hand, and society's competing interest in the free flow of ideas, information, and commerce on the other hand."1 As technologies change, so do the laws that preserve the compromise copyright seeks to serve.2 Today, complete digital copies of copyrighted works can be widely distributed with minimal time and effort.3 To combat the growing problem of piracy and other infringement that naturally follows new channels of distribution, copyright owners seek to protect their works by implementing technological measures that control access to their works and protect against infringement.4 These measures have, at times, been circumvented by users-without regard to the wishes of the copyright owner-to enable unfettered use, sometimes fair and other times foul.5 Realizing these new challenges, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act6 (DMCA) to deal with copyright protection in the digital age.7 The anti-circumvention provisions in the Act, which are located at § 1201 (a), are aimed at prohibiting both the use and trafficking of devices that bypass any technological measure employed by a copyright owner that protects access to their work or a right afforded to them under the Copyright Act.8

In Chamberlain Group, Inc. v. Skylink Technologies, Inc. ,9 the Federal Circuit became only the second appellate court10 to interpret the reach of § 1201(a)(2).11 Chamberlain Group, Inc. (Chamberlain), manufactured a line of garage door openers, known as the "Security+" product line, which contain an added security device featuring "rolling code" technology.12 This technological measure is intended to prevent unauthorized opening of the garage door by other devices.13 For example, the rolling code would prevent a criminal from programming a traditional universal remote to open a garage door for the purpose of breaking into the home.14 Essentially, the rolling code authentication process protects access to the copyrighted program that operates the garage door unit.15 Skylink Technologies, Inc. (Skylink) manufactured universal remote controls for garage door opener systems.16 Skylink developed a method that bypassed the rolling code technology and offered a remote that could operate the "Security+" garage door opener system.17 Chamberlain brought a claim against Skylink under the DMCA because the circumvention accessed its copyrighted program.18

The central issue before the court was whether Skylink's universal remote violated the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions by operating the Chamberlain "Security+" garage door opener system.19 In sum, the Federal Circuit held that Skylink's universal remote did not violate the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions because Chamberlain failed to show (1) a lack of authorization, an essential element of a § 1201 (a) claim, and (2) a reasonable connection between access and protection, meaning there was no nexus between the circumvention and an infringement of a protected right.20 This decision is important because it represents a significant change in interpretation, whereby the court limited the character and reach of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions.21 The court concluded that § 1201 provides a theory of liability as opposed to a property right, where only the latter is capable of supporting a cause of action independent from an infringement claim under the Copyright Act.22 Furthermore, the court limited the reach of the provision by supplanting a nexus requirement that must be satisfied by showing a reasonable relationship between the circumvention and infringement.23 These principles limit both how and when the provisions may be used.

The DMCA provisions at issue must be extended no further than necessary to protect copyright interests and allow for legitimate public access. The Chamberlain decision looked beyond a plain reading of § 1201 to save the DMCA from producing precarious results while preserving the essential balance between copyright ownership and public access. The court's holding will, among other things, affect manufacturers of aftermarket products, like Skylink, and the world of digital media. This Note will examine how the ruling will affect trends in digital music, particularly the availability of § 1201(a)(2) as a tool to restrict the use of downloaded music files and how that will in turn influence the struggle for platform in the digital music market.

In order to fully understand the development of this controversy, Part I of this Note will first examine the statutory development of copyright law, followed by the protections and rights current law affords bo...

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