By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

In response to a request made by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, the U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking a study on the interplay between copyright law and consumer products that contain software, including motor vehicles. Software is often protected by copyright law, but exceptions in the law allow for use and access to copyright-protected elements for certain purposes. Congress is now considering changes to the law to more adequately address the issue.

In its comments, SEMA made its position clear that any changes to the law should ensure aftermarket companies continue to have access and the ability to reverse engineer the software of modern vehicles to achieve different functionality and interoperability with aftermarket components.  

For more information, contact Ashley Ailsworth at ashleya@sema.org. 

While in the Petersen Archive researching last month’s tribute to George Barris, we ran across this photo of the ’55 Lincoln Futura show car. The man under the canopy is Benson Ford, son of Edsel and grandson of Henry Ford, who was taking the sharp-edged show car for a publicity spin around Manhattan.

While in the Petersen Archive researching last month’s tribute to George Barris, we ran across this photo of the ’55 Lincoln Futura show car. The man under the canopy is Benson Ford, son of Edsel and grandson of Henry Ford, who was taking the sharp-edged show car for a publicity spin around Manhattan.

While in the Petersen Archive researching last month’s tribute to George Barris, we ran across this photo of the ’55 Lincoln Futura show car. The man under the canopy is Benson Ford, son of Edsel and grandson of Henry Ford, who was taking the sharp-edged show car for a publicity spin around Manhattan.

Ford Motor Company and the SEMA Garage have partnered to present the all-new ’17 Ford F-Series Super Duty Measuring Session. Featuring the all new F-Series Super Duty and Chassis Cab, this exclusive event will be held Wednesday, April 27, at the Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Attendees will be provided with advanced product information for the ’17-MY F-Series Super Duty and access to program engineers and the pre-production trucks. Don't miss this opportunity to jumpstart your product development efforts on these “production-representative” trucks.

Ford Motor Company and the SEMA Garage have partnered to present the all-new ’17 Ford F-Series Super Duty Measuring Session. Featuring the all new F-Series Super Duty and Chassis Cab, this exclusive event will be held Wednesday, April 27, at the Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Attendees will be provided with advanced product information for the ’17-MY F-Series Super Duty and access to program engineers and the pre-production trucks. Don't miss this opportunity to jumpstart your product development efforts on these “production-representative” trucks.

Ford Motor Company and the SEMA Garage have partnered to present the all-new ’17 Ford F-Series Super Duty Measuring Session. Featuring the all new F-Series Super Duty and Chassis Cab, this exclusive event will be held Wednesday, April 27, at the Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Attendees will be provided with advanced product information for the ’17-MY F-Series Super Duty and access to program engineers and the pre-production trucks. Don't miss this opportunity to jumpstart your product development efforts on these “production-representative” trucks.

Ford Motor Company and the SEMA Garage have partnered to present the all-new ’17 Ford F-Series Super Duty Measuring Session. Featuring the all new F-Series Super Duty and Chassis Cab, this exclusive event will be held Wednesday, April 27, at the Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Attendees will be provided with advanced product information for the ’17-MY F-Series Super Duty and access to program engineers and the pre-production trucks. Don't miss this opportunity to jumpstart your product development efforts on these “production-representative” trucks.

Ford Motor Company and the SEMA Garage have partnered to present the all-new ’17 Ford F-Series Super Duty Measuring Session. Featuring the all new F-Series Super Duty and Chassis Cab, this exclusive event will be held Wednesday, April 27, at the Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Attendees will be provided with advanced product information for the ’17-MY F-Series Super Duty and access to program engineers and the pre-production trucks. Don't miss this opportunity to jumpstart your product development efforts on these “production-representative” trucks.

The SEMA Show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world. The 2016 SEMA Show is scheduled for Tuesday–Friday, November 1–4.

It draws the industry’s brightest minds and hottest products to one place, the Las Vegas Convention Center. As part of the AAIW, the SEMA Show attracts more than 100,000 industry leaders from more than 100 countries for unlimited profit opportunities in the automotive, truck and SUV, powersports, and RV markets. The 2015 SEMA Show drew more than 60,000 domestic and international buyers.