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Serial Cables Illegal Due to DMCA?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the bad-cable-no-cookie dept.

Colin McMillen writes "I've recently had an interesting run-in with the DMCA... apparently, US Customs has rejected entry of a PC<->Sega Dreamcast serial cable into the US, supposedly due to copyright violations. This cable was to be used for Dreamcast programming for the Real-Time Systems class offered at my university. This seems to be a clear case of the DMCA abridging a perfectly valid educational use of a perfectly legal piece of hardware."

3 of 427 comments (clear)

  1. How silly by speculums · · Score: 0, Troll

    These groups are restricting access to mostly harmless items, but something like a gun, which has few non-harmful uses, (and I'm not anti-gun) can be owned by just about anyone. Fortunately, the battle in this country is more over access to entertainment than to food or medicine. At least for now.
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    Vivez sans temps mort
  2. Same thing happened to me by nick_burns · · Score: 0, Troll

    My shipment of 5000 black eye-patches was blocked because they were ruled "piratical."

  3. Re:What a wonderful world. by zangdesign · · Score: 1, Troll

    That was the French, you ninny. Probably did it on purpose, too, tha' snail-eatin #*@!tards because we export our fast-food restaurants.

    Or possibly in revenge for "Le Hamburger".

    Is that my karma-evaporation light blinking?

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    To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.