EFF Releases Music DRM Guide

Chris Chiasson writes "The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently created a plain English guide to several fair use restrictions that major online music services, such as Apple's iTunes, force on their customers via Digital Rights Management (DRM) laden music files and End User License Agreements (EULAs). An excerpt from the guide follows: 'Forget about breaking the DRM to make traditional uses like CD burning and so forth. Breaking the DRM or distributing the tools to break DRM may expose you to liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) even if you're not making any illegal uses.' The EFF also lists four alternative music services which sell unrestricted files."

Comments

Re:It's a choice... but for how long?

[Anonymous Coward]

It provides a major inconvenience, many hurdles for us to jump over just to use something we already bought & payed for.

But the point is, you didn't pay to use that DRM'd music in those other ways. Don't want the restrictions? Don't buy that music. There are other musicians and publishers.

iTunes lets me do what I want with what I buy and doesn't get in my way ... no problem. I made an informed choice. Don't tell me that I have to get on your bandwagon. (pun intended)