Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
According to this, it is indeed illegal to "circumvent an access control" - ie to remove DRM.
|
"The DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions
don't prohibit the mere possession or use of a section 1201(b)(1) circumvention technology (copy controls), so it's legal to use AEBPR in a non-infringing way. Paradoxically, although it is legal for people to bypass these controls and exercise fair use rights, the provision of them is illegal under Section 1201."
See the EFF page on this topic.
Note: AEBPR is "ElcomSoft's Advanced eBook Processor (AEBPR) allegedly removes the technological protection from eBooks that are in Adobe's eBook format and converts them into Adobe's Portable Document Format, so that people can use eBooks in more expanded ways than currently available under the Adobe eBook format."
There's also some information on what the DMCA actually says:
"The DMCA inserted new anti-circumvention provisions into the Copyright statute. These make it an offense to engage in an act of circumvention of a technical protection (section 1201(a)(1)),
to develop and provide tools to others which would allow them to access a technologically protected work (section 1201(a)(2)) and
to manufacture, import , provide or traffic in tools that would enable another to circumvent protection to copy a protected work (section 1201(b)(1)(A))."
From the EFF.
If you'll notice, there's nothing there prohibiting the
use of these tools.