Federal Judge Rules Breaking DRM = Legal!
Before you get ahead of yourselves, this is for devices that you own that don't infringe on copyright protection, but this is still huge! The specific case (via boinboing.net) features one Judge Emilio Garza of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Appeals Court.
I'll give you the fast Wikipedia definition of DRM:
"Digital rights management (DRM) is a generic term for access control technologies that can be used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to impose limitations on the usage of digital content and devices. The term is used to describe any technology that inhibits uses of digital content not desired or intended by the content provider. The term does not generally refer to other forms of copy protection which can be circumvented without modifying the file or device, such as serial numbers or keyfiles. It can also refer to restrictions associated with specific instances of digital works or devices. Digital rights management is used by companies such as Sony, Amazon, Apple Inc., Microsoft, AOL and the BBC."
Apparently, General Electric cracked software encryption keys to perform maintenance on equipment it owned, and won the case!
Judge Garza ruled:
"Merely bypassing a technological protection that restricts a user from viewing or using a work is insufficient to trigger the (Digital Millennium Copyright Act's) anti-circumvention provision."
This breaks a HUGE precedent set that it is illegal to remove any DRM unless you are the one who placed the DRM on object in the first place. So it would be illegal for you to remove the DRM for your blu-ray Avatar that you paid $30 for, even if it is your own movie and you are not selling a burned copy. It also goes so far as James Cameron would not be allowed to take the DRM off the movie either!
MGE, the plaintiff, will appeal this and it may go to the Supreme Court. This could mean a lot to people who like to hack and rip their devices.
This of course applies to jailbreaking, carrier unlocking, flashing HSPL, porting android to your HD2, etc. which were never considered illegal in the first place, but what about breaking iTunes DRM? Computer games you own? E-Books?
Are you excited about this news? Would you like to see DRM gone for good because it is a nuisance and doesn't protect anything but inhibit the honest owners?
What's your take on this?
update: Thanks to user sanjsrik for the tip on the affirmation out of D.C. that acts like jailbreaking are not illegal (via BGR)
© 2010, orangekid. All rights reserved.
I’ve always backed up every dvd/cd I own. To know that I can do this legally now is amazing. Now I just need to buy a Bluray drive.
Thats a bunch of B.S., I paid how much for my TP2 and now its gonna be illegal to customize it the way I want it? B.S. I tell you but it wont stop me either lol!
@Goreala – I think you may need to re-read the article.
i think this is good. because like coolwhip said…i back up my digital media on various portable drives. i like my movies with me when i travel to the Philippines so that I can watch them with the wife and kids. And if they really liked the movie, i leave the drive with them so they can keep watching it. It’s not like they have a warehouse somewhere making pirated copies of the movies (or other digital media that they got from me).
Now if we can just get something like this added to the current bill in Canada making it legal to circumvent all copy protections schemes for personal use. Just make it illegal to circumvent the protections for the purpose of piracy!
even if they appeal, which they will.. this is still new law and in effect until over-turned..
no more having to flash back to stock/re-lock anymore to goto a store.. or having to flash and re-lock to send to Asurion…
Apples gotta be fuming.. i love it!
Hopefully with apple making this decision other phone manufacturers will follow. I’m sure I can keep dreaming!!!
@boredandtattooed – It may not be illegal but they can still claim that since you did tamper with the software that it voids the warranty hence still having to flash back stock before you took the phone back.
theres a difference between legal and voiding your warranty
Great new for this community an others alike!!!
Does this mean using an evo.. I could clone a touch pro 2 and keep my sero plan?
no no it does not pda
here is the company that really won the battle for us…
however long it lasts
https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/07/26
Amazing. The judge’s reasoning doesn’t jive with the DMCA’s language. Courts interpret the law, they don’t make it. The legislature makes law. The DMCA says “~no circumvention of technological measures that protect copyrighted works.” Just because GE wanted to view it or whatever, so the hell what. They obviously didn’t get that right from the copyright holder, since the technological measure was in place & GE knew it when they licensed the “specific” right granted to them.
And if the judge was relying upon the fair use doctrine, he’s still an idiot. That only applies to straight-up copyright infringement claims; it does NOT apply to wrongful circumvention, which has its own exceptions.
Well, I don’t see this holding standing for too long, simply because its reasoning is “wrong.” If the judge read another section of the DMCA that gave GE an out, and put it in the opinion, then fine. But what I’ve read from this note, the judge (or his clerk) screwed up the reasoning. I have to read the full opinion, so this is just reflexive banter. So …
What brought me to ppcgeeks a few years ago was how cell phone service providers and makers got together and purposely sabotaged devices for the sake of making money at the customers expense (the disabling of the GPS chip in the HTC Touch Vogue by Sprint to make you pay for Sprint Nav). This site gave me the ability to truly set my device to MY taste with some of the most brillant minds creating ROMS that unlocked the true potential of all of the pda smartphones I have owned since the ppc6700 by Sprint thru to the Evo 4g now. Not that people are in the shadows now, but if what I get out of this is truly the ability to circumvent the service provider and even the manufacturer to set MY device how I want it, then finally. About time. Next would be to take an iphone and put droid on it. LOL…
Great news about time
@coolwhip1220 – I agree with Coolwhip, This is awesome news, Its about time
From a different point of view…..
What is the difference between leasing, buying and renting? Answer: The terms. I have yet to see any good (aside from most electronics) that you can’t alter after purchasing. People buy houses, cars, boats, motorcycles, planes, land, stereo systems, etc. and they alter them and no one cries about that.
Yet, when you purchase a cell phone you can’t alter it in what ever way you want without these big companies crying foul play and infringement rights. The software I get (to some degree) but come on! For the most part hackers only do us all a favor. What’s that? They help us find the weaknesses, strengths and new uses for the software we buy.
What’s the real argument in all this? Simple, how much control over what we see, hear and use these big companies have and how much they don’t want us to have.
End users keep the fight alive. I also suggest writing to the Circuit Appeals Court where this case was heard or even the Supreme Court, if it goes that far, and let them know you support open source and are against the DRM legislation. Remember the pen is mightier……….