Re: Bug#156287: Advice on Drip (ITP #156287)
tb@becket.net (Thomas Bushnell, BSG) writes:
> bts@alum.mit.edu (Brian T. Sniffen) writes:
>
>> DMCA 1201(a)(1)(A): No person shall circumvent a technological
>> measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under
>> this title. The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall
>> take effect at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of
>> the enactment of this chapter.
>
> I'm thinking of the law in toto, including the provisions in the DMCA
> nothing in the DMCA is intended to contravene existing fair use. This
> is a pretty big stick to get to wave back at the MPAA and others of
> their ilk. Since existing fair use guarantees the right to watch my
> copy, provided it's legal, the provisions you quote must not apply to
> them. Why? Because the DMCA says, essentially, "nothing here
> contradicts existing fair use principles".
Your interpretation would make the access-circumvention provision
almost useless: it would mean it only mattered when preventing access
to illegally copied works. Which, hey, is a reasonable law. Neat.
On the other hand, the text actually says that nothing in the DMCA
affects fair use as a copyright-infringement defense. Distribution of
an circumvention device isn't copyright infringement, so that doesn't
help. The interoperability bits in 1201(f) seem fine to cover
libdvdcss / libdvdread distribution, though.
-Brian
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