Before you get ahead of yourselves, this is for devices that you own that don’t infringe on copyright protection, but this is still huge! The specific case (via boinboing.net) features one Judge Emilio Garza of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Appeals Court.
I’ll give you the fast Wikipedia definition of DRM:
“Digital rights management (DRM) is a generic term for access control technologies that can be used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to impose limitations on the usage of digital content and devices. The term is used to describe any technology that inhibits uses of digital content not desired or intended by the content provider. The term does not generally refer to other forms of copy protection which can be circumvented without modifying the file or device, such as serial numbers or keyfiles. It can also refer to restrictions associated with specific instances of digital works or devices. Digital rights management is used by companies such as Sony, Amazon, Apple Inc., Microsoft, AOL and the BBC.”
Apparently, General Electric cracked software encryption keys to perform maintenance on equipment it owned, and won the case!
Judge Garza ruled:
“Merely bypassing a technological protection that restricts a user from viewing or using a work is insufficient to trigger the (Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s) anti-circumvention provision.”
This breaks a HUGE precedent set that it is illegal to remove any DRM unless you are the one who placed the DRM on object in the first place. So it would be illegal for you to remove the DRM for your blu-ray Avatar that you paid $30 for, even if it is your own movie and you are not selling a burned copy. It also goes so far as James Cameron would not be allowed to take the DRM off the movie either!
MGE, the plaintiff, will appeal this and it may go to the Supreme Court. This could mean a lot to people who like to hack and rip their devices.
This of course applies to jailbreaking, carrier unlocking, flashing HSPL, porting android to your HD2, etc. which were never considered illegal in the first place, but what about breaking iTunes DRM? Computer games you own? E-Books?
Are you excited about this news? Would you like to see DRM gone for good because it is a nuisance and doesn’t protect anything but inhibit the honest owners?
What’s your take on this?
update: Thanks to user sanjsrik for the tip on the affirmation out of D.C. that acts like jailbreaking are not illegal (via BGR)