EU Court of Justice on DRM circumvention

pdurrant · 02-09-2014, 10:29 AM

From TechDirt.

In a case brought by Nintendo, the EUCJ has ruled that the European Directive on the Harmonisation of copyright "is designed only to protect the copyright holder against acts which require his authorisation" and "that the legal protection covers only the technological measures intended to prevent or eliminate unauthorised acts of reproduction, communication, public offer or distribution, for which authorisation from the copyrightholder is required. That legal protection must respect the principle of proportionality without prohibiting devices or activities which have a commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent the technical protection for unlawful purposes." (bold in the original)

In short, circumventing DRM might be legal if it is not done to infringe the copyright holder's copyright. And sale/distribution of DRM circumvention tools might be legal so long as they are mainly used for purposes which do not infringe copyright.

The full ruling (in English) can be read here. Other European Languages are available.

NB I am not a lawyer. Do not rely on this message for legal advice!

simond · 02-09-2014, 11:59 AM

Sounds almost too like common sense...

Purple Lady · 02-09-2014, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simond

Sounds almost too like common sense...

Which means that would never happen in the U.S.

CRussel · 02-09-2014, 01:14 PM

That's an important ruling, Paul, and one that I'm sure we all welcome. Of course, it all depends on the details and how this plays out, but I'm encouraged. Some common sense seems to be taking hold.

eschwartz · 02-09-2014, 03:08 PM

This is good news, now the next step is to bring that to the US.

But I suppose this means The Tools can be distributed legally from England, so it is now safe to publicly work on and distribute them? If the Apprentice doesn't live in Europe (??) someone else can still take over?

fjtorres · 02-09-2014, 03:25 PM

Essentially it says you can circumvent DRM for personal use. As long as you don't redistribute the resulting file you are safe.
Effectively, DRM'ed = DRM-free for ethical friends of Alf.

That would be strike 2 for vendors of encryption DRM on digital sales, no?

rjmac · 02-09-2014, 03:33 PM

Great news - a common sense ruling.

Lynx-lynx · 02-09-2014, 04:13 PM

This is very interesting news.

Does the decision have general application on DRM matters across the EU, or is it case specific and only apply to Nintendo.

So, can the case be referred to by courts in other jurisdictions both within the EU and in Europe generally.

Maybe too detailed a question.

Sydney's Mom · 02-09-2014, 04:28 PM

Not only common sense, seems to make it easier for free markets to operate.

WT Sharpe · 02-09-2014, 04:30 PM

That is really good news. A victory for consumers.

Mivo · 02-10-2014, 07:11 AM

It may take quite a while before this turns into national regulations, though. There was also an EU Court directive that said that customers are permitted to resell digitally purchased video games and that the vendor must provide the means for doing so (e.g. the ability to transfer the ownership). It's been almost two years and this still hasn't actually led to any changes or results.

Apache · 02-10-2014, 08:10 AM

Apache

Ninjalawyer · 02-10-2014, 10:27 AM

That ruling is common sense, but also exposes how unnecessary it is to prohibit breaking DRM separately from infringing copyright.

If you break DRM for a non-infringing use, so what? The creator isn't affected (beyond cases where they would like to sell multiple copies in different file formats) in that case. Where someone breaks DRM to infringe copyright, then they've infringed copyright, which already allows the affected copyrightholder legal remedies.

crich70 · 02-10-2014, 10:33 AM

So if I understand it right if you break the DRM on a book you have bought in order to store it on media or convert it for your own use on a different reader platform i.e. epub to kindle or vice versa as an example you're in the clear, but if a person breaks it and then puts the book up as a torrent file for example then it's illegal. Does indeed sound like common sense and what many here at MR have said should be the law of the land all along.

rjcchan · 02-10-2014, 01:10 PM

I think you are reading too much into this. What "significant commercial purpose or use" do DRM removal tools have?

02-09-2014, 10:29 AM	#1
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,432 Karma: 318076944 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	EU Court of Justice on DRM circumvention From TechDirt. In a case brought by Nintendo, the EUCJ has ruled that the European Directive on the Harmonisation of copyright "is designed only to protect the copyright holder against acts which require his authorisation" and "that the legal protection covers only the technological measures intended to prevent or eliminate unauthorised acts of reproduction, communication, public offer or distribution, for which authorisation from the copyrightholder is required. That legal protection must respect the principle of proportionality without prohibiting devices or activities which have a commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent the technical protection for unlawful purposes." (bold in the original) In short, circumventing DRM might be legal if it is not done to infringe the copyright holder's copyright. And sale/distribution of DRM circumvention tools might be legal so long as they are mainly used for purposes which do not infringe copyright. The full ruling (in English) can be read here. Other European Languages are available. NB I am not a lawyer. Do not rely on this message for legal advice! Last edited by pdurrant; 02-10-2014 at 10:58 AM. Reason: typos, disclaimer

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02-09-2014, 11:59 AM	#2
simond Fanatic Posts: 532 Karma: 1062755 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura One, iPad, iPhone	Sounds almost too like common sense...

02-09-2014, 01:14 PM	#4
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,322 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), iPad Air M3	That's an important ruling, Paul, and one that I'm sure we all welcome. Of course, it all depends on the details and how this plays out, but I'm encouraged. Some common sense seems to be taking hold.

02-09-2014, 03:08 PM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	This is good news, now the next step is to bring that to the US. But I suppose this means The Tools can be distributed legally from England, so it is now safe to publicly work on and distribute them? If the Apprentice doesn't live in Europe (??) someone else can still take over?

02-09-2014, 03:25 PM	#6
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	Essentially it says you can circumvent DRM for personal use. As long as you don't redistribute the resulting file you are safe. Effectively, DRM'ed = DRM-free for ethical friends of Alf. That would be strike 2 for vendors of encryption DRM on digital sales, no?

02-09-2014, 03:33 PM	#7
rjmac Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 574506 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Kobo Touch	Great news - a common sense ruling.

02-09-2014, 04:13 PM	#8
Lynx-lynx Treachery of images ... Posts: 4,149 Karma: 94320195 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Australia Device: Sony 650, Kobo Glo, H2O, Aura One, Forma, Libra 2, Libra Colour	This is very interesting news. Does the decision have general application on DRM matters across the EU, or is it case specific and only apply to Nintendo. So, can the case be referred to by courts in other jurisdictions both within the EU and in Europe generally. Maybe too detailed a question.

02-09-2014, 04:28 PM	#9
Sydney's Mom Wizard Posts: 2,899 Karma: 6995721 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Idaho, on the side of a mountain Device: Kindle Oasis, Fire 3d Gen and 5th Gen and Samsung Tab S	Not only common sense, seems to make it easier for free markets to operate.

02-09-2014, 04:30 PM	#10
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	That is really good news. A victory for consumers.

02-10-2014, 07:11 AM	#11
Mivo Fanatic Posts: 556 Karma: 3531054 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Germany Device: In use: Pocketbook InkPad 3, Kobo Glo, iPad Air 2	It may take quite a while before this turns into national regulations, though. There was also an EU Court directive that said that customers are permitted to resell digitally purchased video games and that the vendor must provide the means for doing so (e.g. the ability to transfer the ownership). It's been almost two years and this still hasn't actually led to any changes or results.

02-10-2014, 08:10 AM	#12
Apache Readaholic Posts: 5,306 Karma: 90981752 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: South Georgia Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"	Apache

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02-10-2014, 10:27 AM	#13
Ninjalawyer Guru Posts: 826 Karma: 18573626 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Nexus 7 (2013)	That ruling is common sense, but also exposes how unnecessary it is to prohibit breaking DRM separately from infringing copyright. If you break DRM for a non-infringing use, so what? The creator isn't affected (beyond cases where they would like to sell multiple copies in different file formats) in that case. Where someone breaks DRM to infringe copyright, then they've infringed copyright, which already allows the affected copyrightholder legal remedies.

02-10-2014, 10:33 AM	#14
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	So if I understand it right if you break the DRM on a book you have bought in order to store it on media or convert it for your own use on a different reader platform i.e. epub to kindle or vice versa as an example you're in the clear, but if a person breaks it and then puts the book up as a torrent file for example then it's illegal. Does indeed sound like common sense and what many here at MR have said should be the law of the land all along.

02-10-2014, 01:10 PM	#15
rjcchan Zealot Posts: 118 Karma: 176306 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: none	I think you are reading too much into this. What "significant commercial purpose or use" do DRM removal tools have?