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Danish DRM Breaker Turns Himself In To Test Backup Law

Posted by timothy on from the impure-impurity-and-impureness dept.

coaxial writes "In Denmark, it's legal to make copies of commercial videos for backup or other private purposes. It's also illegal to break the DRM that restricts copying of DVDs. Deciding to find out which law mattered, Henrik Anderson reported himself for 100 violations of the DRM-breaking law (he ripped his DVD collection to his computer) and demanded that the Danish anti-piracy Antipiratgruppen do something about it. They promised him a response, then didn't respond. So now he's reporting himself to the police. He wants a trial, so that the legality of the DRM-breaking law can be tested in court."

7 of 466 comments (clear)

  1. Won't Loving Work. by InvisibleClergy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    He's just going to be slapped with an unreasonable fine he can't pay and then he will have to file for bankruptcy or some such thing. Courts are fine with giving out unreasonable fines because "hey, at least it's not jail time." However, fines can make it impossible for you to pay your bills, even if you are allowed to pay them off over a period of time.

    1. Re:Won't Loving Work. by Delwin · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In the US bankruptcy cannot get rid of your student loans or any civil penalties. Huge civil penalties are actually worse than jail time because a few years in jail and you get out and have a chance to start over (barring Felonies which have other issues). Even life sentences usually have some possibility of parole. Huge civil penalties here and you are never going to have more than substance levels of money ever again.

  2. Re:this is brave by dintlu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Is selective enforcement of a law an effective defense against that law's application against an individual, in Denmark?

  3. Re:Kudos by h4rm0ny · · Score: 4, Interesting


    What's sad is how that act can terrify others around you. I carried out the similar but actually real behaviour of cutting the stupid labels attached to the leads of some new keyboards at a place I worked - I refuse to believe that any of us need to be instructed by it to read the three paragraphs of safety information on the bottom of the keyboard. One of my staff was horrified and thought that it might be breaking the rules.

    I tell you this: A society that is afraid to cut labels off keyboards is fucked. Oh, and good luck to the Danish guy. I bet he's not afraid to tear labels off things.

    --

    Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
  4. That Dude is My Hero! by MarkvW · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He's not a whining sniveling cowardly hypocrite like the Pirate Bay defendants.

    This guy's putting it on the line. Does he have a defense fund that can be contributed to?

  5. Re:this is brave by Talderas · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You didn't know that? That's why cops don't usually pull you over if you're less than 10 mph under the speed limit. That's within the margin of error of a potentially wrong tire size and errors with the speed gun.

    --
    "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  6. Re:How does that work? by DaleSwanson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is no civil case here as there has been no copyright infringement. Rather in Denmark it is illegal to break DRM. He broke DRM and thus broke the law. The issue is that in Denmark there is the legal right to make copies, and in order to do that you must break the DRM.