Lexmark has invoked the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act in a legal action against a firm that makes chips that permit third party toner cartridges to work in its printers.

The printer company is suing Static Control Components for violation of the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act regarding the Static Control's Smartek microchips. Normally litigants would use patent laws in such cases but here we see another example of the surprising applications of the DMCA.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/28811.html

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"In practice, the anti-circumvention provisions have been used to stifle a wide array of legitimate activities, rather than to stop copyright piracy," the study's authors wrote.

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-980112.html?tag=cd_mh

I think this is correct & a backward step!