Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
Do you really pay attention to what goes on on MR? Your statement leads me to believe you don't actually read what's on MR.
We've been over this issue many times.
We cannot say that stripping DRM in the USA is illegal. It's a gray area. We have the DMCA and it has exceptions. So we know according to the DMCA, if you fall under the exception, stripping DRM is legal. We also have fair use exception to the copyright. So under fair use, stripping DRM is legal. Also, we do not know if DRM trumps fair use or does fair use trump DMCA. So until this goes to a court of law, it will remain a gray area.
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Define where on MR. It's not a discussion I've seen, so probably the answer is "no".
The DMCA provides for 3-year-long exemptions. Currently the only one that allows you to remove DRM from books is if the DRM on all available versions of the book prevents you from using TTS or a screen reader. If Amazon disallows it but Barnes & Noble allows it, the exemption doesn't apply. Any other reason, including "it doesn't work on my desired platform," does not have an exemption and would fall under the category of circumventing access control.
So it's only a gray area in that it hasn't been tried. Assuming the DMCA is constitutional and this does not match an exemption, too bad.
Edit: Didn't address fair use. That's only about copying, not access control. Fair Use allows you to maintain a backup copy. With an ebook, you can do that with DRM in-place -- just make a copy of the file. Where that interacts with the DMCA's circumvention restriction is when you have to be able to remove the copy protection in order to make a backup.
I'm pro-DRM removal (and even more pro-DRM-free content) and anti-DMCA, but that doesn't change the fact that the DMCA makes me a criminal every time I liberate an ebook I buy.