[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Harmon

Whattayasay we look at some actual "law."

Excellent suggestion .

The law I've cited above deals with computer programs, not DVDs. But the underlying copyright concepts for both are the same, & I'm pretty confident that UK law runs parallel to US law, although it might deviate in details.

The reason I'm pretty sure that backing up, ripping, etc, one's own CDs is currently illegal in the UK is the fact that the government has issued a consultation document, which has the support of the phonographic industry, to discuss changing the law to make it permissible. At present it's one of those things which is legally not permitted, but which nobody is ever prosecuted for.

Here's how US law runs, broadly speaking:

1. it is NOT illegal for a private person to make a copy of digital media which he owns himself, even if the program is DRMed.

2. it IS illegal to sell or distribute a program which defeats DRM.

3. a private person who copies, for personal use, digital media which he owns, has done nothing illegal, and this remains true even if he defeats DRM to do so.

Your point 3 above, seems to be contradicted by the DMCA which says:

Section 103 (17 U.S.C Sec. 1201(a)(1)):

No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.

and provides the definition:

to “circumvent a technological measure” means to descramble a scrambled work, to decrypt an encrypted work, or otherwise to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure, without the authority of the copyright owner.

Now it seems clear to me that if a private person, even for personal use, removes DRM, that person is "circumventing a technological measure", and hence is in violation of the above section 103 of the DMCA, are they not? If this is not so, please could you explain why not, since the above seems pretty "clear cut".