Garage door copyright ruling upheld on appeal
Publish date: 08 September 2004
Issue Number: 1046
Diary: Legalbrief eLaw
Category: Copyright
A US appeals court has upheld a ruling that Skylink Technologies, which sells garage door openers that are interoperable with those produced by a rival, is not in breach of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, reports Out-Law.com.
In 2002, Chamberlain sued Skylink Technologies over Skylink\'s universal remote transmitter, arguing that, as the device circumvented a \'rolling code\' security function, Skylink was in breach of the DMCA. In the US Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit unanimous ruling, Judge Arthur Gajarsa wrote: \'The essence of the DMCA\'s anti-circumvention provisions is that (they) establish causes of action for liability. They do not establish a new property right.\' The court noted that even though Skylink\'s transmitter circumvented Chamberlain\'s chip, it did not infringe on Chamberlain\'s copyright. Full Out-Law.com report
