You are misinformed on the law and have fallen victim to FUD.
The law permits decryption software to be used and distributed for the purpose of interoperability of software and hardware. The two legal issues are copyright and patents.
Copyrights: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act grants a specific copyright exemption for this purpose. See Title 17, United States Code, Sec. 1201(f). The best example of such a purpose is to allow Linux computers to play DVDs.
Patents: If the drive carries the DVD logo from a reputable company, the patent holders have already been paid the royalty for the format. See the licensor's website describing the effect of the logo: http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/logo/lg_nature.html.
In short, you may play that DVD you bought at WalMart on your Linux computer to your heart's content. You may even keep a backup copy of it on your computer as long as you still own and possess the original DVD.
However, you may NOT use libdvdcss (or any other software) as a device to enable the making and distributing of copies of the DVD or to help others do so. This is no different than using a Windows computer. It is trivially easy to copy a DVD on any computer, simply by running the wires from the digital output of your DVD player to the digital input of your computer. But that doesn't give you the right to circumvent copyright protection.
Bottom Line: Just don't burn a copy to give away. If your friend wants a copy of Shrek 3, you should go back to WalMart, buy her one, and give it to her. (Besides, Shrek 3 was produced with Linux computers, so it's a good way to support the home team.)
Loye W. Young, Jr., J.D.
Isaac & Young Computer Company
Laredo, Texas http://www.iycc.biz/
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The law permits decryption software to be used and distributed for the purpose of interoperability of software and hardware. The two legal issues are copyright and patents.
- Copyrights: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act grants a specific copyright exemption for this purpose. See Title 17, United States Code, Sec. 1201(f). The best example of such a purpose is to allow Linux computers to play DVDs.
- Patents: If the drive carries the DVD logo from a reputable company, the patent holders have already been paid the royalty for the format. See the licensor's website describing the effect of the logo: http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/logo/lg_nature.html.
In short, you may play that DVD you bought at WalMart on your Linux computer to your heart's content. You may even keep a backup copy of it on your computer as long as you still own and possess the original DVD.However, you may NOT use libdvdcss (or any other software) as a device to enable the making and distributing of copies of the DVD or to help others do so. This is no different than using a Windows computer. It is trivially easy to copy a DVD on any computer, simply by running the wires from the digital output of your DVD player to the digital input of your computer. But that doesn't give you the right to circumvent copyright protection.
Bottom Line: Just don't burn a copy to give away. If your friend wants a copy of Shrek 3, you should go back to WalMart, buy her one, and give it to her. (Besides, Shrek 3 was produced with Linux computers, so it's a good way to support the home team.)
Loye W. Young, Jr., J.D.
Isaac & Young Computer Company
Laredo, Texas
http://www.iycc.biz/