The federal government rarely hands fair use proponents cheerful word — usually it ’s quite the opponent . But a judge of the5th Circuit Appeals Court has ruledthat circumventing DRM for non - infringing purposes is n’t illegal , contrary to twelvemonth of precedent .
Judge Emilio Garza ’s ruling is an over-the-top reproval of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act , which since 1998 has made it illegal for you to split up or otherwise mess with DRM on matter you already own to enjoy them the way you want to . But “ Merely bypassing a technological aegis that restricts a user from viewing or using a oeuvre is insufficient to trigger the ( Digital Millennium Copyright Act ’s ) anti - circumvention provision , ” Garza countered .
accord to the jurisprudence as it stands , ripping a copy protect DVD with software that bypasses the phonograph recording ’s DRM — even if you only want to keep an eye on the digital copy on your own laptop , on your own lounge , in your own flat — is completely illegal . This share of the DMCA flies in the expression of the entire notion of fair use — the legal conception that gives you the right to record last Nox ’s Mad Men premiere or rip a CD .
As Boing Boing points out , this case is peculiarly significant because the defendant is none other than General Electric , which crack software encryption keys to do alimony on equipment it possess . Whether or not the case is appealed further — which could potentially mail it to the Supreme Court — remains in the hands of the complainant , MGE UPS Systems . But as history has shown us , sometimes it takes the resources and clout of a megacoporation to affect effectual variety , as was the case withSony ’s watershed “ Betamax Case”in 1984 . [ Courthouse News ServiceviaBoing Boing ]
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