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Originally Posted by tammycravit
Here's a third reason. The DMCA says (17 USC 1201(a)(1)(B) that the anti-circumvention prohibitions do not apply "to persons who are users of a copyrighted work which is in a particular class of works, if such persons are, or are likely to be in the succeeding 3-year period, adversely affected by virtue of such prohibition in their ability to make noninfringing uses of that particular class of works under this title". Though, to my knowledge, this provision has not been well tested in court, I think you could argue that circumventing DRM which, because of an action by the publisher, bars you from reading an e-book you purchased, would render you "adversely affected" in your "ability to make noninfringing uses of that particular class of works."
However, until courts start seeing litigation about these issues, about the best that we can say about the DMCA is "this is what it says, and who knows what it means."
Tammy (disclaimer: I am a paralegal, but not an attorney)
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You left out an important part of the quote:
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...that particular class of works under this title, as determined under subparagraph (C).
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Subparagraph C refers to the list of six exceptions adopted by the Librarian of Congress, with the most relevant one being:
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(6) Literary works distributed in ebook format when all existing ebook editions of the work (including digital text editions made available by authorized entities) contain access controls that prevent the enabling either of the book’s read-aloud function or of screen readers that render the text into a specialized format.
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There's no right to circumvent DRM even if making a copy would qualify as fair use under the copyright statute.
If you break DRM for "private gain or commercial advantage," you've committed a crime. If you do it otherwise, it's a civil offense with statutory damages of $200 to $2,500. (Or someone can sue for actual damages, assuming they could prove them.)