No exemption for DVD ripping, jailbreaking consoles

James Delahunty
26 Oct 2012 11:22

No exemptions for ripping, modding.
The U.S. Copyright Office periodically consults the public for possible exemptions to copyright laws in the country. For example, jailbreaking smartphones is exempt from the DMCA due to a previous review on how the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) affects consumers' legal use of electronics and content.

A frequent request is for an exemption for circumventing copy protection mechanisms in place on DVDs (CSS, for example) in order to make backup copies legally, and to allow the modifying (or jailbreaking if you prefer the term) of games consoles.
Sadly, the U.S. Copyright Office has rejected both requests this time around, and predictably, piracy is the root of its objections.

"[T]he record demonstrated that access controls on gaming consoles protect not only the console firmware, but the video games and applications that run on the console as well. The evidence showed that video games are far more difficult and complex to produce than smartphone applications, requiring teams of developers and potential investments in the millions of dollars. While the access controls at issue might serve to further manufacturers' business interests, they also protect highly valuable expressive works – many of which are created and owned by the manufacturers – in addition to console firmware itself."

While the exemption for jailbreaking smartphones has been upheld in this review, the Copyright Office failed to extend it to tablet PCs, arguing that an ebook reading device might be considered a tablet, as might a handheld video games device.

Public Knowledge was very displeased that no exemption has been provided for consumers to copy content from encrypted DVDs. In order to, for example, copy content from a Hollywood DVD to a format for an iPad or similar device, a consumer can use any of a number of ripping utilities to get the raw DVD-Video content - but must break the law to do so.

"Today's decision flies in the face of reality. The register and the librarian were unable to recognize that personal space shifting is protected by fair use. This has implications beyond making personal copies of motion pictures on DVD," said Michael Weinberg, a Public Knowledge vice president.