Musical Holocron

I've posted before regarding copyright, but if it wasn't clear I'm not in favor of DRM. In brief; it's complicated and restricts the rights of honest users and it can be easily circumnavigated by determined pirates. Honest users who get aggravated end up seeking out "pirate" methods anyhow, just so they can use the content they paid for legally.

That's why the following story made me smile. Judge rules that circumventing DRM is not illegal. This sets the precedent that any method available for enjoying your music or movies can be used as long as your goal is not piracy. It reinforces the fair use laws and rules that are already in place.

In essence, this ruling means that you're free to break DRM on media that you own. No longer is it illegal to rip your own DVDs or crippled audio CDs onto your hard disk.

Keep on hackin'!

Thanks to Mike for posting this to his twitter.

Labels: copyright, DMCA, legal

# posted by ArcoJedi : 12:57