The Legality of DRM Removal

[dabanow]

Hey all this is my first post, been lurking these forums for a while and finally decided that I had a decent question to ask ^_^

Anyway, yesterday I was talking to my friend about the legality of DRM removal. He legally downloaded Terminator Salvation for free via promotion (see slickdeals post here). Anyway, apparently it has DRM and he said he had tried to remove it both via software and by screen capture. He claims none of this was illegal since he "owned" the movie now. I didn't see the promotion, but I said there might be some fine print when he downloaded it saying it was illegal to do this and he basically called me an idiot.

So what's the verdict? Is he ignorant or am I an idiot? :awe:

 

[frostedflakes]

It's illegal under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). That said, nobody is going to care if you remove DRM from movies you bought. DMCA has mainly been used to prevent people from creating and selling software that's able to circumvent copyright protection (DVD Decrypter, for example). They don't go after individual users, though.

 

[FoBoT]

he doesn't own anything

he is more ignorant than you (at least so far, as you give us more info on yourself, i reserve the right to alter my answer)

 

[amdhunter]

Damn, I wish I would have gotten in on that deal. I liked that movie. Kinda.

 

[FoBoT]

It's illegal under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act).

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c105:1:./temp/~c105Gd59VR:e40882:

`(b) REMOVAL OR ALTERATION OF COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION- No person shall, without the authority of the copyright owner or the law--
`(1) intentionally remove or alter any copyright management information,

there you go, frostedcornflakes is right

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Hey all this is my first post, been lurking these forums for a while and finally decided that I had a decent question to ask ^_^

Anyway, yesterday I was talking to my friend about the legality of DRM removal. He legally downloaded Terminator Salvation for free via promotion (see slickdeals post here). Anyway, apparently it has DRM and he said he had tried to remove it both via software and by screen capture. He claims none of this was illegal since he "owned" the movie now. I didn't see the promotion, but I said there might be some fine print when he downloaded it saying it was illegal to do this and he basically called me an idiot.

So what's the verdict? Is he ignorant or am I an idiot? :awe:

More than likely it's illegal because of DMCA, but I really don't want to think about it too much. Just wanted to point out that fine print is a very poor indication of legality as when it comes to first sale or fair use it's often unenforcable.

 

[sdifox]

Hey all this is my first post, been lurking these forums for a while and finally decided that I had a decent question to ask ^_^

Anyway, yesterday I was talking to my friend about the legality of DRM removal. He legally downloaded Terminator Salvation for free via promotion (see slickdeals post here). Anyway, apparently it has DRM and he said he had tried to remove it both via software and by screen capture. He claims none of this was illegal since he "owned" the movie now. I didn't see the promotion, but I said there might be some fine print when he downloaded it saying it was illegal to do this and he basically called me an idiot.

So what's the verdict? Is he ignorant or am I an idiot? :awe:

Depends on where he is. Illegal in USA.

 

[sdifox]

Damn, I wish I would have gotten in on that deal. I liked that movie. Kinda.

http://www.amazon.com/Terminator-Sal...4697054&sr=8-1

 

[Modelworks]

Removing DRM from streamed media would be illegal. Even if the person just used the copy for personal use and had no intention to distribute multiple copies the owner can claim that allowing that to happen could lead to a future of people copying without discretion . You can be punished for what might happen in the future , not what you have done. The MPAA spent a lot on getting these laws in place and it shows. With DRM the burden of proof is on you, not them. You are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

 

[Kadarin]

The MPAA spent a lot on getting these laws in place and it shows.

I wish I had the kind of money it takes to get laws passed.

 

[Leros]

He doesn't own the movie. Warner owns the movie. Your friends was given the rights to view the movie under certain terms and conditions.

 

[AMDZen]

WTF cares if it's illegal.

 

[lsv]

WTF cares.

Fixed. ;D

 

[FoBoT]

WTF cares if it's illegal.

pirate?

 

[mugs]

Removing DRM from streamed media would be illegal. Even if the person just used the copy for personal use and had no intention to distribute multiple copies the owner can claim that allowing that to happen could lead to a future of people copying without discretion . You can be punished for what might happen in the future , not what you have done. The MPAA spent a lot on getting these laws in place and it shows. With DRM the burden of proof is on you, not them. You are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

You're using terms that have actual meanings, and you apparently don't know what they are.

The fact that you can be punished for removing copy protection does not mean the burden of proof has shifted to you. What needs to be proved is that you removed the copy protection - that is the offense, which is separate from the act of copying. You are not presumed guilty.

 

[rockyct]

Wow, he must be really cheap to want to spend that much trouble pirating a copy of T4 and create a pseudo justification for his actions. I mean, go to Redbox and rip a copy. It's no more illegal than what he's doing. Heck, just go all the way and torrent a copy or get it from other source [cough]usenet[/cough].

 

[dabanow]

Thanks for the replies...so it's definitely illegal for him to skirt the DRM via extraction/decryption, but what about screen capture? Is that sort of a gray area?

 

[rockyct]

Thanks for the replies...so it's definitely illegal for him to skirt the DRM via extraction/decryption, but what about screen capture? Is that sort of a gray area?

Of course it's illegal. Now, these methods (DRM removal, screen capture, DVD/BRD ripping) make it almost impossible to get convicted of anything if you don't share it, but it's still illegal.

 

[Red Squirrel]

DRM and DMCA is a big pile of crap, so legal or not, I just just go ahead and do it. If you PAY for something you should be allowed to do what you want with it. Sadly from a legal standpoint that's not how it works.