Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
The issue is "a work protected under this title." A work being accessed for fair-use purposes may not be protected under this law; it depends on how fair use is interpreted. (Whether it's an exception to copyright law or an affirmative defense.)
If a work isn't protected by copyright law -- and fair use purposes may mean it's not, in the given situation -- then the DMCA doesn't apply to it.
The DMCA also says,
(c) Other Rights, Etc., Not Affected. — (1) Nothing in this section shall affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright infringement, including fair use, under this title.
So the restrictions against using DRM-removing software may not apply to fair use reasons for cracking the DRM. |
"Under this title" is the entirety of U.S. copyright law. If a work isn't copyrighted, then it's in the public domain, and there's no point in bringing up Fair Use, or copyrights- Fair Use applies to copyrighted works.
(c) Other Rights, Etc., Not Affected. — (1) Nothing in this section shall affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright infringement, including fair use, under this title.
The above applies to other copyrighted works where there is no cracking of digital protections on a copyrighted work (broadly speaking, but that's the gist of it). So, you can copy any copyrighted work (following the guidelines under Fair Use) you want. This provision doesn't supersede the language that goes to decrypting an encrypted copyrighted work.
In a Federal Court ruling a Judge ruled that invoking "Fair use can never be an affirmative defense to the act of gaining unauthorized access." Google the Realnetworks case (I believe).
I'm not here to argue about it. If you believe you can crack DRM under the guise of Fair Use, well, go ahead.