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Felt Tip Marker Defeats Copy-Protected CDs

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the felt-tip-markers-are-now-illegal dept.

We posted this story over a week ago but the mainstream media has flooded us with stories about felt tip markers and copy protected CDs so I figured I'd post it again since I'm really sick of deleting hundreds of submissions from people who didn't read Slashdot on May 13 ;) Basically you can mark the rim of some CDs and defeat the copy protection. And we all know what the DMCA says about tools for circumventing copy protection.

4 of 383 comments (clear)

  1. Confused editor by AirLace · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And we all know what the DMCA says about tools for circumventing copy protection.

    I thought the DMCA only stipulates laws for devices designed specifically copyright violation? A marker pen clearly doesn't fall into this category. Otherwise they could have outlawed CD burners, photocopiers and who knows what else by now.

    1. Re:Confused editor by roybadami · · Score: 5, Insightful

      His software was designed solely for the purpose of pirating eBooks.

      FUD

      His tool was designed solely to allow copying of e-book data to another format. Not all copying is piracy; some is fair use.
  2. DMCA jokes by Erasmus+Darwin · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Call me crazy, but I'm getting tired of all 30 billion variations of "OMG! A paperclip is an illegal copy protection circumvention device because I can use it to poke out the eye of the person who makes the CDs, causing him to go to the hospital when he's supposed to be putting on the security track."

    At this point, I long for the days of trolls posting haikus about a petrified Natalie Portman slathered in hot grits driving the Slashdot Cruiser over to a Beowulf cluster. At least those posts tended to get appopriately modded down as trolls rather than modded up as both insightful and funny.

    The DMCA circumvention device joke has been made. Several times. Stop mindlessly repeating it like you're Raymond going through the Who's On First routine. Besides, I hear Amazon.com has a patent on the business model of mindlessly repeating a joke.

    (I apologize for cluttering up the comments with meta-discussion, but I felt the point needed to be made. Also, since this is just a repost, most important points have already been made.)

  3. The Important Thing is that it Works by serutan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ok ok ok, we get the jokes (most of us anyway).

    The important thing is not whether felt tip pens will become illegal. It's that somebody figured out a laughably simple way to defeat something Sony must have spent a good chunk of money coming up with. I'm thinking meetings, demos, testing, approval, and at least one large congratulatory catered lunch. And now they look like idiots. Nothing, I mean NOTHING, upsets corporate management more than being made fools.

    Right on.