Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetpea
Is there actually a list of countries where this is legal (or illegal)? Or do I have to read all volumes of our law books to find out if it is legal or not?
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No list that I am aware of. I'll address the US situation below; YMMV in other countries.
Remember I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, so this is
NOT legal advice! If you need real legal advice, pay a real lawyer. That said, I have taken a graduate seminar on digital IP issues and have heard eminent legal experts on speak on both sides of this question.
Here in the US, legal opinions differ as to the legality of stripping DRM. Eminent legal experts have lined up on both sides of that question*, but no court has yet ruled so nobody really knows. What
is clear is that providing DRM-removal software to someone else is a federal felony, as is telling them where to get it or how to use it. Similarly, there's no question that removing DRM and then uploading the unprotected content to public websites (or otherwise sharing it) is a violation of both the DMCA and the copyright holder's rights. (Well, DUH!)
My take is that there should be no problem stripping DRM for personal use only. I even have formal advice of counsel to that effect -- which
might protect me from punitive damages by showing a good-faith effort to remain legal, but is not worth any more than that for me (and is absolutely no legal use at all for anyone else).
Xenophon
* The difference arises because the DMCA both clearly states that removing DRM is illegal, and also that there are about a gazillion exceptions to that rule some of which (seem to) obviously cover personal fair use. Except that "obvious" to some legal experts is "dead wrong" to others. Which is why we wait for Congress or the courts to sort it all out.