Quote:
Originally Posted by hypothetical
One of the main points of contention here is that a kindle’s PID is only use is for shopping at other stores. It’s still on the main page as I write this. I think that this is true for 95% of the people on this site, but lets remember that there are many sites with less scruples. It would be naive to think that useful tools used for legitimate reasons couldn’t possibly be used for illegitimate ones. A little google research found this:
I won’t post the entire script because of its purpose, but the command line arguments should be fair game and enough to make a point.
print "MobiDeDrm v0.05. Copyright (c) 2008 The Dark Reverser"
This may be a different PID, but I doubt it. Regardless, this would probably scare any publisher that found it into contacting amazon and asking them to take action.
I did another, more targeted, google search for “MobiDeDrm”. The top hit is for this website. It’s for a forum thread that is simply instructing a member on how to execute python scripts (damning stuff, I know), but it still enough to make this site stand out as a source of information. If you were going to send out letters to sites requesting the removal of all the tools that could be used to rip and redistribute your books, wouldn’t you start at the top of the google results?
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I agree that Amazon has a tiny sliver of justification for not liking KindlePID. It can be used to get a PID to use with mobidedrm, and this is a way to buy from Amazon and read on a non-authorized device (i.e. something other than a Kindle or an iPhone). It could even be used to post an illegal copy on the web, although for the ebooks that are already hosted by mobipocket.com (a large fraction of the total) mobidedrm is enough on its own (no need for KindlePID). So it is hard to see how protecting the PID helps to prevent true piracy.
The important point, though, is that the primary purpose for KindlePID is to allow KindleFIX to work. This allows OverDrive MOBI ebooks (including lending library ebooks) to work on the Kindle or iPhone without removing DRM. Amazon has no standing to prevent this, and a non-infringing use such as this one is enough to make the software legal. Remember, KindlePID does not remove DRM - if it is a circumvention tool this is only the case because mobidedrm exists.
There was a difference on this site between mobidedrm and KindleFIX. Both are Python scripts that manipulate MOBI ebooks, but KindleFIX is legal and so it had its own Wiki pages and was discussed completely openly with no restrictions (until Amazon complained). This isn't the case with mobidedrm, if it was ever linked to the moderators would quickly remove the link and there have been several posts on mobidedrm deleted for going to far. This was self policing to stay within US law and mobileread's own policy. You could argue that mobileread's policing was too lax, but it does exist and does try to stay within the law. The same policy now applies to KindleFIX, which illustrates the power of Amazon to abuse the DMCA for its own ends.