Quote:
Originally Posted by cfrizz
While removing DRM may be illegal, (By USA law) it is NOT a felony offense which is punishable by over a year in prison. A year or more incarceration is what makes a felony a felony.
Stripping drm is considered a misdemeanor which is punishable by less than a year in prison and or a fine. But since there was no violence involved, more than likely you will be hit with a fine.
Naturally, there are exceptions to this as in the cases of Enron & Martha Stewart.
From Wiki: "While every crime violates the law, not every violation of the law counts as a crime; for example: breaches of contract and of other civil law may rank as "offenses" or as "infractions". Modern societies generally regard crimes as offenses against the public or the state, as distinguished from torts (offenses against private parties that can give rise to a civil cause of action)".
Lets try to use the right terminology since these words are not interchangeable and mean totally different things under the law.
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My bad. I didn't bother to look up the status of DMCA violation beyond being criminal rather than civil. While it may not make you a felon, a misdemeanor still gives you a criminal record (you don't have to check the "Are you a felon?" checkbox while applying for a job or a loan or whatever, but it can still be a negative strike if a background check is done). You're unlikely to be prosecuted for liberating your personal ebook library, but let's not forget the key point here -- circumventing copy protection is breaking the law.