[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

That pretty clearly and unambiguously says to me that if you strip DRM just to read a book you're entitled to read, that's OK. If you strip DRM to get rights you shouldn't have then that's a violation.

Precisely. If you strip DRM to get rights you shouldn't have, then that's a violation. And that's exactly what you're doing when you strip library DRM - you're getting rights you shouldn't have: namely, the right to keep the book indefinitely. Whether or not you choose to exercise that right is of no relevance; the important point is that by removing the DRM you have gained a right that the copyright holder did not intend you to have.

Of applicability also is the case of "RealNetworks, Inc. v. DVD Copy Control Association, Inc., 641 F. Supp. 2d 913 (2009)", where RealNetworks were taken to court for selling a tool which allowed users to make backup copies of DVDs. In that case:

The DMCA prohibits circumvention of "effective" access control of copyrighted works and the trafficking of tools that are designed primarily to circumvent "effective" access control or copy control of copyrighted works [7]. RealNetworks alleged that that CSS is not effective anymore because it has been cracked or hacked [8][9]. However, the court ruled that the DMCA statute does not require the access control or copy control technology to be strong as long as it prevents unauthorized access and/or copying under ordinary course of operation and with the authority of the copyright owner. Since the court concluded that CSS is still effective for ordinary uses, the DMCA claim against RealNetworks is valid [1][6].

The court decided that RealDVD is primarily designed or produced to circumvent CSS technology. In particular, the court found that the removal of crucial CSS technology in DVD drive-locking, secure storage of content keys on DVD, CSS authentication and CSS bus encryption during the playback of copied DVD content from the hard dive is a circumvention of CSS, even though they are not needed when playback from the hard drive [6]. The court further explained that even though RealNetworks is a licensee of CSS technology, it does not shield RealNetworks from DMCA claim because the removal of CSS technology is a violation of DMCA [1].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RealNet...sociation,_Inc.

This is directly relevant to eBooks, because it says that even though the "fair use" clause of the copyright act makes permissible such activities as format conversion, it is not legal to remove DRM (even when that DRM mechanism has been widely hacked) to permit you to do so.