Slashdot Mirror
DRM Circumvention Now Lawful For More Devices
BUL2294 writes: The U.S. Library of Congress' Copyright Office has published their newest rules regarding DRM circumvention. Much to the chagrin of car makers and agricultural vehicle manufacturers, DRM circumvention, with the exception of telmatics ("black box") and entertainment systems, and anything that would run afoul of DOT or EPA regulations, is now allowed for "diagnosis, repair or lawful modification of a vehicle function." In addition, jailbreaking is now extended to tablets, wearables, and smart TVs, but not to single-purpose devices like e-readers. An exemption has been carved out for security researchers to hack cars, voting machines, and medical devices — as long as that device is not being used for its purpose and is in an isolated environment. Finally, owners of abandoned video games that require server authentication (where such authentication is no longer available) may also circumvent DRM. DRM circumvention is NOT allowed for jailbreaking gaming systems and e-readers, and does not allow for "format-shifting" (e.g. moving e-books from one platform to another).
The full text of the new rules is available online (PDF), and will be published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2015.
The full text of the new rules is available online (PDF), and will be published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2015.
Switzerland has been using targeted drone strikes to destroy evidence that DRM is in the American food supply.
By tracking the shapes that DRM-smugglers' secret trails leave in the deserts that line the US-Mexico border, we can easily tell that many of these criminals are in league with the KKK.
People who have taken out library books on this topic frequently find that they receive more rigorous airport screenings than before. Definitely not a coincidence!
Old classmates say that Ron Paul associated with the KKK during college. When's the last time anyone asked him about that on television?
According to CNN, when 12 distinguished veterans discussed Switzerland and religious belief at a press conference, they received visits from men claiming to be working with the FBI's "Information Suppression" Unit.
Numerous pop songs from the 90s make veiled references to this.
Stop relying on the Mainstream Media for information about these critical topics, and seek the truth out for yourself.
... but just for dead games?
I will time shift and format shift if I damn well please. The more you engage this unethical behavior, the less money I give you. Thank you. No, I mean thank you. For encouraging me to do other things.
If I can circumvent it, I will. I paid for it and it's mine. If you think you can stop me with your silly laws then you can go suck on a tailpipe.
TL;DR: Fuck you.
highlights.
If you think you can stop me with your silly laws then you can go suck on a tailpipe.
I hear VW is hiring software engineers for their diesel engine control units... You should apply....
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
definition of "gaming system" and "entertainment system"?
Both xbox and playstation provide far more than gaming functionality where they have web browsers, netflix and other streaming service clients.
You can play a game on nearly any device these days. Thus every phone and pc is a "gaming system" or "entertainment system". Arguably anything with an app store supercedes being a mere "gaming" or "entertainment" system if it has even a single app that is neither.
How is moving a file from one system to another "format shifting". Sounds like simply copying a file.
From everything I read about the TPP, I suspect that these changes will have to be reversed if TPP is ratified.
Why? We wasn't offering to suck a tailpipe, he was saying you should.
As much as I hate the DMCA and DRM in general, I have to concede that at least some of what the Copyright office has proposed here are reasonable exemptions to DRM. Game authentication, unlocking tablets, etc. Kudos to them for that. I do understand it is a small victory, however, and easily reversible. But still, at least they are putting some thought into it and not just giving all DRM producers carte blanche.
Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
The DMCA prohibits "circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works", but for some reason everyone treats it as if it prohibited the circumvention of technological measures that keep you from doing anything the manufacturer doesn't want you to do.
Sure, DRM on ebooks fits the definition, but not all of this stuff does.
Jailbreaking a phone has nothing to do with access to copyrighted works. Neither does bypassing the restrictions that keep you from diagnosing car trouble.
I disagree with title of article.
All things are "lawful" until they are made "unlawful." by new laws.
... you mean in a year?
Alton Brown once said there's only one single-purpose tool in the kitchen—the fire extinguisher. There are NO single-purpose devices in the hands of makers (yeah, I'd still say "hackers"). E-readers have been converted for all sorts of other uses. That's a rather absurd exception to the exception. For that matter, XBMC started as a re-purpose of the XBox, did it not?
You can bet that if the DMCA were being created today, in perfect hindsight, no way would the lobbyists allow that kind of power to be given to a librarian.
First, their RULES do not have the weight of law. The separation of powers prevents it. I will IGNORE whatever those agencies come up with. Only LAW has any real restriction on me or you..
Second, I don't care even if it were a law. I had enough of government overreach and wouldn't go along with them anyway.
For my riding inkjet printer. You plug in a dongle, and it prints out a one-time code you hold up to the scanner, which starts the engine. After all, we have to make sure the car won't strand anyone unexpectedly.
TPP will take away.
Why it is legal to implement it in these cases to start with?
My Kindle E-reader can read books, browse the web, check email, play solitaire, and more.
It's ok to bypass DRM in inconsequential areas like cellphones and old software, but not where you're actually strung up on a leash, like the spyware in vehicle telmatics. Got it. How nice of them to think of the little people.
Smart TVs, but not 'single function' devices like e-readers. What does single function mean, then? Does that include amazon's tablets? They're e-readers and they are multifunction. This is a distinction without a difference.
Whatever happened to real ownership? When I buy something, it should be mine. All of it, including the copy of whatever software ships with it. I should be able to modify it if I choose, especially if it is owner-hostile in nature. After all, I'm sure vendors wouldn't want me to have the right to control how they spend the money I give them, complete with tracking reports and heavy handed licensing.
Modifying your own property is a crime.
... but you circumvent for genuinely personal and private use, how the heck would anyone else even know you ever did it, let alone prosecute you?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Wow. That's.... reasonable. What's the catch?
Part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop -- something like "but this only applies to licensed security developers, the license for which costs $100K and takes three years to get".
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Well, you'd have to post to some public forum talking about... it... uh oh.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
"In addition, jailbreaking is now extended to tablets, wearables, and smart TVs, but not to single-purpose devices like e-readers."
Given that my Kindle Paperwhite has a web browser built-in, by what measure is it a single-purpose device?
I knew I needed to stop reading Slashdot and finish my PhD when I started to miss articles by Bennett Haselton.
Of course... but if they don't actually talk about it with anyone else, or share the results of their work with anyone, then any laws prohibiting circumvention are unenforceable in that context.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Vanilla WoW is an example of a game "that require server authentication (where such authentication is no longer available)". I don't want to upgrade to your shitty new version, Blizzard. Thank goodness for Mangos and Trinity.
In objection to this morally appalling legislation. No person should obey unjust laws that criminalize knowledge, speech, and control of ones own devices. I will continue to protest and fund efforts to overturn such laws and any government by any means feasible that tries to enforce these laws.
They specifically say that desktops and laptops are not exempt from these DRM circumvention restrictions, but cellphones and tablets are. Why?
What is the difference between a tablet and an e-reader, besides the extent to which it is locked down? Most e-readers are not single purpose devices anyway.
If you run into someone who claims otherwise just kill them on the spot and pretty soon this problem will be solved.
So basically this means that you can crack your games so they keep on working if any of these services go under within the next 3 years and the individual game developers don't alter or strip the DRM out?