The Digital Millennium Copyright makes it illegal to "circumvent"
digital rights management schemes,but when Congress passed the DMCA in
1998, it handed the Librarian of Congress the power to grant some other exemptions, adding to the "list".Unfortunately,
The newest add-ons to the "list", which will be enforced for the next (oh the horror) three years
were announced on Thursday.
Well this sucks,from now to late 2015,
there'll be five sections of
circumvention that will be allowed under the Librarian's rules, one
fewer than the current "list" of exemptions, which was announced in July
around two years back. The new exemptions take effect October 28.
The
new list of exemptions draw a picture of the fundamentally arbitrary
nature of the DMCA's exemption process,or simply how they roll, For the
next three years, you'll
be allowed to jailbreak smartphones but not even a tablet computer that
came from a "librarian"...You can unlock phones purchased before January
2013 but after that, nope.
Even MORE "great" news...
It
will be legal to rip DVDs to use an excerpt in a
documentary, but not to play it on your iPad... none of these make any
sense or shouldn't for that matter,but if i had to blame somebody,it'd
be Congress more than the Librarian of Congress.
So you can Jailbreak an iPhone, but not iPad...
The new rules allow circumvention of "computer programs that enable
wireless telephone handsets to execute lawfully obtained software
applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose
of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs
on the telephone handset.". her is a quick summary;
- jailbreaking is permitted
for "telephone handsets," as it was under the 2010 rules.
- You cannot Unlock any smartphone after january of 2013,do it now or never i guess.
- It's illegal to rip DVD's to use as excerpt in a documentary,but it's not to be played on your iPad.(!?)
What about tablets? Not a chance. The Librarian
"found" a significant merit
to the opposition’s worries and burdens and concerns that this aspect of
the proposed class was
broad and ill-defined..., as a wide range of devices might be considered
'tablets,' not bearing the significant distinctions among them in
terms of the way they operate, their intended purposes,which half of the
buyers will hack or gain root access to...so scratch the intended
purpose, and the nature
of the applications they can accommodate. For example, an e-book reading
device might be considered a 'tablet,' as might a handheld video game
device or a laptop computer."
What?!who on God's green blessing we come to know as Earth considers their...i don't know,DSi or laptop to be a tablet?!
The Librarian ruled that "the record lacked a sufficient basis to
develop an appropriate definition for the 'tablet' category of devices, a
necessary predicate to extending the exemption beyond smart phones."
well
not necessarily "ill-defined" My friend once left her Samsung Tablet in
her Desk,back in one of her major classes in college with me...(she's
lucky i found it :]),and i didn't text her saying "Oh hey i found your
laptop(or handheld game device)"no in fact that would be sad.
No more unlocking
In 2006 and 2010, the Librarian of Congress hadn't put on the "list" that users couldn't
unlock their phones to take them to a new carrier,welcome back to the control of the indecisive librarian...or as i call her the
" Librarian 'sudden flip flop of listing' of Congress",because that's coming to
an end. While the new rules do contain a provision allowing phone
unlocking, it comes with a crippling warning: the phone must have been
"originally acquired from the operator of a wireless telecommunications
network or retailer no later than ninety days after the effective date
of this exemption."
talk about another evil list...
So, phones you already have, as well as those purchased
between now and next January, can be unlocked. But phones purchased
after January 2013 can only be unlocked with the carrier's permission.
Why the new change of diapers in the smartphone unlocking policy? The Librarian cited two key factors.
- One is a 2010 ruling
that held that when you purchase software, you don't really own it,your
just licensed to it according to the terms of the End User
License Agreement. The Librarian argued that this undermined the claim
that unlocking your own phone was fair use.
- The Librarian saw that there are more unlocked phones on the
market than there were three years ago,{oh gee...i "wonder" why...}.
So,the Librarian saw that there are more unlocked phones on the
market than there were three years ago,{oh gee...i "wonder" why...}
plus,most wireless carriers
have liberal policies for unlocking their handsets,so the invisible
domino makes the other one fall and chaos sets loose...or something,but
just because it's invisible doesn't mean it's not there,the
Librarian of Congress decided that it's illegal to
unlock your cell phone without the carrier's 'Approval'.
DVDs: Excerpts,no space-shifting
The most Stupidest lit add-on is mainly about DVDs.
Between now and 2015,
it will be legal to rip a DVD "In order to make use of short portions
of the motion pictures for the purpose of criticism or comment in the
following instances:
- in noncommercial videos;
- in documentary
films;
- in nonfiction multimedia e-books offering film analysis;
- for educational purposes in film studies or other courses
requiring close analysis of film and media excerpts, by college and
university faculty, college and university students, and kindergarten
through twelfth grade educators.
- " A similar exemption applies for
"online distribution services."
Here comes the stupid part;3...2...1...
the Librarian does
not allow circumvention for space-shifting
purposes.
Though public interest groups have "screamed" that consumers should
be allowed to rip a DVD in order to watch it on an iPad that lacks a
built-in DVD drive,or add an iPad disk tray to the design, the Librarian concluded that no court has found that
such "space shifting" is a fair use under copyright law.
summary:
- No jailbreak for iPad
- No Unlocks after january 2013
- No DVD ripping if your going to put it on an iPad
So...The Digital Millennium Copyright makes it illegal to "circumvent"
digital rights management schemes,but when Congress passed the DMCA in
1998, it handed the Librarian of Congress the power to grant some other exemptions, adding to the "list".Unfortunately,
The newest add-ons to the "list", which will be enforced for the next three years,and it really sucks!
