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Representatives of Static Control Components recently appeared before a five-member rulemaking panel of the Copyright Office in Washington, D.C., to argue for the exemption of toner cartridges from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA is a factor in the copyright infringement Case Lexmark brought against Static; Lexmark representatives also spoke at the hearing.
Static petitioned the Copyright Office for the exemption earlier this year. It seeks to have three classes of items exempted from section 1201(a) of the DMCA to help “address a substantial adverse economic and societal impact of this application of the DMCA,” Static General Counsel Seth Greenstein said, according to the transcript of the May 9 hearing.
"I think from some of the questions that the Copyright Office was skeptical of Lexmark's position that the DMCA applies" in this case, said Skip London, general counsel for Static. "My understanding is that they won't rule on this until Oct. 28," London added, explaining that there were dozens of other proposed exemptions, all of which will be considered by that deadline.
The comments, rebuttals and testimonies from the rulemaking proceedings will form the basis of evidence that the Register of Copyrights, along with the Assistant of Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce, will use to make their recommendation to the Librarian of Congress. The Librarian must make a recommendation before October 28, 2003. The entire transcript from the hearing can be read at http://www.copyright.gov/1201/ -- choose the link for the May 9 hearing.
As an update on the status of Static's court cases, Lexmark has filed a motion to move the antitrust case, filed in North Carolina by Static Control, to Lexington, Ky., to join with the existing infringement case.
In that case, Lexmark sued Static Control for infringement under copyright law and the DMCA, and Lexmark was granted a preliminary injunction in February to keep Static from selling the disputed T520/620 chips. Static has requested and been granted an expedited appeal, and those papers must be filed by late June, London said, with Lexmark's response due 30 days later. The case will enter the discovery phase soon, with discovery slated to conclude near the end of the year.
