DMCA Does Not Apply to Garage Door Openers

A universal garage door opener is not in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, even if used on a system made by another company, a U.S. District Court ruled Thursday.

The court ruled on a dispute between Skylink Technologies, the manufacturer of a universal remote control for garage door openers, and Chamberlain Group, the maker of garage door opener systems. . . .

"[U]nder Chamberlain's theory, any customer who loses his or her Chamberlain transmitter, but manages to operate the opener either with a non-Chamberlain transmitter or by some other means of circumventing the rolling code, has violated the DMCA," reads the opinion from Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer of the Northern District of Illinois U.S. District Court. "In this court's view, the statute does not require such a conclusion."

Wired.com has the full story here.