Quote:
Originally Posted by wallcraft
|
Not so fast! See also
my contribution to that same thread. The key part reads:
The written advice-of-counsel that I paid for on the subject of DRM removal tells me that (in the opinion of one eminent IP lawyer):
- Removing DRM from legally acquired content for personal use only is a legal exercise of my fair use rights;
- Distributing content for which I lack distribution rights is clearly a violation of relevant copyright laws (whether I've removed the DRM or not);
- Providing DRM-removing code to other people within US jurisdiction is almost certainly a felony under the DMCA;
- Telling others where to get such DRM-removing programs may or may not be a felony (depending on whether or not a Court decides that it falls under "providing");
- Explaining how to use DRM-removing programs that another person has somehow acquired on their own is almost certainly not a felony under the DMCA;
- Possession of DRM-removing programs is not in itself a violation of the DMCA (although distributing them or providing them to others probably is).
The remainder of the post may also be of interest to some readers. I should also note that the final word on whether or not DRM removal is legal won't come until we get a court ruling. Or two. Or three. Or the Supremes weigh in. Or the Congress changes the law again. Or something.
Xenophon