Quote:
Originally Posted by bill_mchale
Simple, circumventing DRM is a crime in and of itself. If all new media is DRM'd. then even though it legally enters the public domain, no clear text copies of the media might exist. Since any sort of conversion of the product to a clear text (even via typing it manually) is circumventing DRM, then, if everyone obeys the laws, the work though legally in the public domain can never actually be released.
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Bill
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Ummm.... no, actually. Circumventing DRM
is not a crime in and of itself, when done for personal use (in the US, under the DMCA, that is -- I'm not sure about newer laws).
What
is a crime is any of the following:
- Creating tools to remove DRM (although there is an exemption for academic research)
- Providing DRM-removal tools to others
- Telling someone else where to get (or how to use) a DRM-removing tool (by implication from the previous item).
The tools themselves are legal, although creating them is not. Using the tools is legal, although supplying them or spreading information about them is not. The DMCA is a really
really odd piece of legislation.
My source for this understanding is a graduate seminar on IP issues in computing that I took a few years ago at Carnegie Mellon. It was taught by Dr. Dave Farber, with guest lectures by a who's who of legal and technical experts.
Xenophon
Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. Consult a real lawyer if you need legal advice; don't trust this message. Your mileage may vary. Buy low, sell high...