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Posted by PTravel on 02/02/07 21:11
"timepixdc" <timepixdc@aol.comx> wrote in message
news:timepixdc-5D7898.04175502022007@news.lga.highwinds-media.com...
> In article <52epkrF1ntf0sU1@mid.individual.net>,
> "PTravel" <ptravel@travelersvideo.com> wrote:
>
>> >> Copying a DVD to a computer to watch on a plane is _probably_ fair
>> >> use .
>> >
>> > Not in the USA.
>>
>> Really, counselor? Why do you think that?
>
> Because in order to do it you'd have to defeat the DVD's encryption.
> That's a no-no.
That's true for DVDs that have copy protection, but not for DVDs that do
not.
However, with that said, the scope of the DMCA is not at all clear in this
regard: does the prohibition on circumventing copy protection schemes apply
to content which is (a) licensed to the person doing the circumvention, and
(b) circumvented for a legal, i.e. fair use, purpose?
I'll give you a real-world example relevant to video production. Some years
ago, I purchased, direct from a software vendor an FX package that had a
copy protection scheme that required on-line validation based on email
address which, in turn, results in a validation key that gets entered into
the software. Over the years, as my computer systems changed, I've had to
re-install this FX package a number of times. The last time I tried to do
this, I couldn't recall the email address that I used to originally
register. I emailed and called the software vendor multiple times, was
promised that the records would be updated (I sent a scan of the original
disks, manuals, etc., as well as my name and address, email addresses I've
used over the years, etc.), but, after more than a month, the update never
took place and I still couldn't install the software that I was licensed and
authorized to use. Instead, I went on-line and found a key-generator for
the product and used that to install it.
By the plain language of the DMCA, I circumvented a technological
copy-protection scheme. Did I violate the law by doing so?
The case law on this is mixed and not at all clear, but I'll say this: I
recently argued exactly this point in the context of defending a copyright
infringement suit on behalf of a client. The lawsuit settled before the
judge could rule on this question, but I'll put it like this -- the other
side wasn't exactly jumping up and done screaming that Rule 11 (the Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure that precludes frivolous arguments).
So, even with respect to copy-protected DVDs, I'm not prepared to say that
copying it to a computer for viewing, for example, on an airplane, would
constitute either infringement or a DMCA violation.
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