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canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

The US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibits devices and software that can be used to circumvent digital restrictions, no matter how trivial the restrictions. A new slide deck from the US Department of Homeland Security [cbp.gov] (warning for PDF) states that the overall number of copyright-, patent-, trademark-related seizures increased by 8% last year. Though much of it was from traditional counterfeit goods, there like in most news was some hints at something more problematic regarding interpretation of the rules:

New data released by Homeland Security shows that U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized significantly more DMCA circumvention devices in 2017. The seizures, which includes mod chips for gaming consoles, increased 324% compared to the year before, although the actual number remains fairly low.

[...] What we did notice is that the International Intellectual Property [sic] Alliance (IIPA) recently framed streaming boxes as possible circumvention tools. The strong enforcement focus of rightsholders on these devices may have been communicated to border patrols as well.

Again, there is no word yet on what the border staff actually consider to be circumvention technologies.

From TorrentFreak : U.S. Border Seizures of DMCA Circumvention Devices Surges [torrentfreak.com]
and the Washington Examiner : US customs agencies seize $1.2B in counterfeit imports as illegal goods market continues to grow [washingtonexaminer.com].

Original Submission