3 ms·

Is defeating a 40-year-old copy protection mechanism still illegal under Section 1201 of the DMCA, or have they changed the law to make an exception for "very o

by odomus 8mo ago

Is defeating a 40-year-old copy protection mechanism still illegal under Section 1201 of the DMCA, or have they changed the law to make an exception for "very old" software?

direwolf20 8mo ago
It's illegal.
- NoiseBert69 8mo ago
  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/24/oj/eng https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/24/oj/eng Directive 2009/24/EC, Article 5 + Article 6 Under special circumstances it's legal within the EU do do this. And removing a freaking old copy protection dongle to allow emulation of the software you legally are allowed to use falls under this.
TheDong 8mo ago
Once it hits 70 years from the lifetime of the author (so probably another 80 or 90 years from now) and is in public domain, that might change things since there will no longer be copyright being protected. In terms of copyright terms, this software is still pretty young, not even halfway to public domain. It's disrespectful to call it "very old".
- direwolf20 8mo ago
  Defeating a copy protection measure is illegal, even if the copy protection measure is not copyrighted.
  - TheDong 8mo ago
    I'm not talking about the copy protection, but the software being protected. Surely if the work being protected isn't copyrighted, there's nothing to circumvent in terms of the DMCA?
    - direwolf20 8mo ago
      A non–copyrighted work can still have a copy protection measure
      - TheDong 8mo ago
        But would the DMCA ("Copyright Act") still apply when there's no copyright? Here, let's read together: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201 > No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title > protected under this title A work not protected under title 17, copyright, is thus not covered.
yesturi 8mo ago
BTW, in the European Union, reverse-engineering is perfectly legal, if it is done to ensure compatibility with the current tech. I cannot cite the reliable sources for it, though.
TMWNN 8mo ago
The Internet Archive has a DMCA exemption. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#Software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#Software> There are more general exemptions, including dongle-based software. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_preservation#Legal_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_preservation#Legal_...>

by odomus 8mo ago

Is defeating a 40-year-old copy protection mechanism still illegal under Section 1201 of the DMCA, or have they changed the law to make an exception for "very old" software?

direwolf20 8mo ago

It's illegal.

NoiseBert69 8mo ago
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/24/oj/eng https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/24/oj/eng Directive 2009/24/EC, Article 5 + Article 6 Under special circumstances it's legal within the EU do do this. And removing a freaking old copy protection dongle to allow emulation of the software you legally are allowed to use falls under this.

TheDong 8mo ago

Once it hits 70 years from the lifetime of the author (so probably another 80 or 90 years from now) and is in public domain, that might change things since there will no longer be copyright being protected. In terms of copyright terms, this software is still pretty young, not even halfway to public domain. It's disrespectful to call it "very old".

direwolf20 8mo ago
Defeating a copy protection measure is illegal, even if the copy protection measure is not copyrighted.
- TheDong 8mo ago
  I'm not talking about the copy protection, but the software being protected. Surely if the work being protected isn't copyrighted, there's nothing to circumvent in terms of the DMCA?
  - direwolf20 8mo ago
    A non–copyrighted work can still have a copy protection measure
    - TheDong 8mo ago
      But would the DMCA ("Copyright Act") still apply when there's no copyright? Here, let's read together: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201 > No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title > protected under this title A work not protected under title 17, copyright, is thus not covered.

yesturi 8mo ago

BTW, in the European Union, reverse-engineering is perfectly legal, if it is done to ensure compatibility with the current tech. I cannot cite the reliable sources for it, though.

TMWNN 8mo ago

The Internet Archive has a DMCA exemption. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#Software https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#Software> There are more general exemptions, including dongle-based software. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_preservation#Legal_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_preservation#Legal_...>