Last month, EFF and I scored a major victory for video game archiving, preservation and play – we got an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act for some archival activities related to video games.

Before I throw a bunch of shade, I want to emphasize that the exemption is a victory for the video game archiving community. Although there were flaws in what the Library of Congress granted, more legal leeway in this space is a net positive.

EFF will go to bat for users' rights at this month's hearings on exemptions to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Section 1201's overreaching restriction on circumventing "access control" or "digital rights management" (DRM) technologies comes in direct conflict with lawful activities like conducting security research, repairing cars, and resuscitating old video games. For that reason, Congress included a provision allowing the public to petition the Copyright Office and Librarian of Congress for exemptions to the 1201 clause. It is a long, complex process that happens every three years with no guarantee that previous exemptions will stand, so EFF is back on the ground to advocate for several important issues.

In past years, EFF successfully petitioned for the right to jailbreak your phone and use DVD video for fair use remixes. In the 2015 petitions, we are working to uphold these uses and more. Here is what we are focusing on: