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Originally Posted by whitearrow
That isn't true. The FCC has specifically ruled that third party DVRs must be allowed via the cable card standard. My TiVo's work just fine, and nothing on them ever expires.
The amendments to the DMCA aren't going to change copyright law. They just are going to prohibit making otherwise non-infringing uses legal just because they require breaking encryption.
The examples cited are dumb, but here is a simpler example: I bought a DVD. What is the principled reason why I should not be able, for my own use and not to share or upload, to 1) make a backup of the DVD, 2) transfer it to a device so I can watch it without the actual disc, such as a phone or computer?
None of that would be illegal under copyright law. I can legally do these precise things with audio CDs, which lack encryption. It's only illegal because of the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA. Why shouldn't I be able to do that? "Because other people might abuse it" is not really a good answer.
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The most obvious example is the ability to backup and enjoy content that you have purchased even if you are off-line, or if the original store goes belly up. Example, if you purchase a movie from iTunes, and you download the movie to your computer, you still can't watch it if your computer/AppleTV is offline since Apple's DRM require authorization each time you access the movie.
When Sony closed down their ebook store, you would be out of luck if one of the ebooks you purchased wasn't transferred to Kudo (which several of mine were not) and you replaced your authorized device.
Frankly, I can't think of a legitimate rational for not allowing people to remove DRM from content they have lawfully purchased. It's simply a method of locking down devices so content providers can control exactly how you use the content. Remember that Disney's CEO famously declared that people who didn't watch commercials when watching a show owned by Disney were stealing.
There are two views in this world. Some people believe that anything that is not expressly forbidden is allowed. Others believe that anything that is not expressly permitted is forbidden. I object to playing "mother may I" every time I want to read a book or watch a movie.