On Wed, 4 Aug 2004, KR'sListMail wrote:
> Hi, > > In response to what I wrote > > >> So, When you start talking about wanting to copy copyrighted DVD > >> movies on your computer? This is not a simple question for any > >> Developer to answer--especially since you are asking questions that > >> are essentially are about "how to break the law". Copying DVD media, > >> is not a "right" > > and Henri's response: > > > > > Not true. Copying media is your right, upheld by the supreme court etc > > etc doodah doodah. > > > > However, the creators of the media have the right to make copying as > > painful as possible, and the DMCA says you are not allowed to get > > around > > things they have put in place. > > > > This basically creats a loophole: You have the right to copy. They have > > the right to stop you. You don't have the right to counter their stop. > > Henri, > > You are very very wrong. > I pay my GDM, IT attorneys $250 an hour to keep me in the legal clear > on copyrights and licenses, and to also write my copyright contracts > for my projects with the studios. Are you saying, what they taught me > is wrong for the past decade is wrong, and that you know more than they > do > > Hacking passkeys, and copying DVD content or any media disk for that > matter, is not a sovereign "right", ethically or legally by ANY court > of law here or anywhere. Copying DVDs, is considered reverse Making backups of your media is a right, by whatever court case that was. They bring it up constantly. DVDs are effectively not copyable as they have protection which is too weak, but have the DMCA which means people are not allowed to exploit weak protection. I point this out in my previous email. I said nothing of distribution. I have no idea whether making a backup in which the region-code is lost, (due to the nature of DVD writing) would be considered to not be a backup under the first right. I suspect this has never been tested in court and so a lawyer could merely give an informed opinion. This mainly means: It is illegal to create/sell software to copy DVDs, but it is perfectly legal to copy DVDs for your own personal use. >From CNet: (http://news.com.com/Judge:+DVD-copying+software+is+illegal/2100-1025_3-5162749.html) "The judge wrote that federal law made it illegal to sell products that break through DVDs' antipiracy technology, even if consumers have a legal right to make personal copies of their movies. " "Legal downstream use of the copyrighted material by customers is not a defense to the software manufacturer's violation of the provisions (of copyright law)." In addition to my statements above, this implies (again, probably untested in court so lawyers may only give opinions) that it's currently not illegal to use DVD copying software for personal use, provided you do not get that software from a US source. This is obviously where the grey area comes in. Hen | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be July 27. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>
