Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Another blow to Fair Use
321 Studios, the company behind DVDXCopy and other software that allowed users to back up DVDs and games that they owned, has ceased operations. This closure was inevitable after a court ruled against 321 in February saying that their products violated copyright law. You can read more about the closure in this WIRED article.
So, thanks to the DMCA, we, as consumers, only have a right to back up the things that the RIAA and MPAA say that we can back up. Because if we back up something that has copy protection, then we are in violation of the DMCA.
IMO, limiting our rights to Fair Use is only going to lead to more piracy. For example, if I buy a DVD and then am told that I can't make a back up copy of the DVD without being considered a criminal, then I have to start wondering why I would buy the DVD in the first place. Why not just rent it from Blockbuster and rip it to a HTPC since according to the DMCA, both of those actions would be a violation.
321 Studios, the company behind DVDXCopy and other software that allowed users to back up DVDs and games that they owned, has ceased operations. This closure was inevitable after a court ruled against 321 in February saying that their products violated copyright law. You can read more about the closure in this WIRED article.
So, thanks to the DMCA, we, as consumers, only have a right to back up the things that the RIAA and MPAA say that we can back up. Because if we back up something that has copy protection, then we are in violation of the DMCA.
IMO, limiting our rights to Fair Use is only going to lead to more piracy. For example, if I buy a DVD and then am told that I can't make a back up copy of the DVD without being considered a criminal, then I have to start wondering why I would buy the DVD in the first place. Why not just rent it from Blockbuster and rip it to a HTPC since according to the DMCA, both of those actions would be a violation.
¶ 6:53 AM 
About Shawn Morton
Married father of 4, social media strategist at Nationwide, consumer electronics enthusiast, hair metal aficionado.
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