If HDCP or AACS or BD+ or any other DRM algorithm out there really were uncrackable then there would be no reason for the DMCA to exist. I never said that I did not support the fair use rights of consumers. I would really love to legally put content that I have purchased or recorded on my DVR on to a portable device. There are a limited number of ways to do that now, all of which are cumbersome and restrictive. I also support the rights of the copyright holders to make a living from the content they produce. I have friends and relatives in the entertainment industry who would be financially hurt by widespread theft of digital content. It is a sticky problem, and one that is not going to be resolved easily.
You don't seem to be grasping this. The DMCA wasn't written to prevent piracy. There were already adequate laws in place to punish those who pirate copyrighted works. I have friends in the content industry too, and I know how much piracy hurts their business, but you're still buying into the lie that this is about piracy. It isn't. The DMCA was written to get around fair use laws. Let me give you an example. Fair use laws say, you buy a CD, you have the right to certain non-infringing uses of that music. You can make a backup copy for personal use, and a copy for personal use on other devices. If you distribute those copies, you're breaking the law, but not for personal use in your devices. The record companies don't like that. They want you to have to buy a seperate copy of that CD for each place you want to use it. Before, the "DMCA" they didn't have any way to enforce such a ridiculous policy. Now, all they would have to do is develop some sort of "protection" based on the excuse that it's to "deter piracy". Now, they can force you to buy a seperate copy for every place you want to use it. If you try to break their so-called "protection" to excersise your fair use rights, YOU are breaking the law. It's an end run around fair use. It always has been.
It was a law designed to facilitate copyright abuse. It has been abused more often than it has been used for the reason they claimed it was for. It's been used to harass companies that refill toner and ink-jet cartridges. It has been used to prevent competition, and many other things. You really should do some research on it. If I have to, I'll look it up for you and give you the links. As a matter of fact, try this for a starter.
Unintended Consequences: Seven Years under the DMCA | Electronic Frontier Foundation There were opportunities for the drafters of the law to put in appropriate exception for fair use, but they refused, because ending fair use was exactly what they were after. Criminals are still going to pirate media regardless of "DRM" or whatever laws are in place. Why? Because they're CRIMINALS. They're already breaking the law, breaking one more isn't going to make a whit of difference to them. All it does, is prevent law-abiding citizens from excersizing their fair use rights.
Gee this is starting to sound really familiar. Like another debate. But THAT one is for the Pit.
