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About LinkBacksRight, so next question is: What happens when the copyright protection mechanism is the disc itself?
Right, so next question is: What happens when the copyright protection mechanism is the disc itself?
I have never come across this and so can't really comment.Originally Posted by kalniel
On another note i'm sure i read in this thread something about the licence agreement. Had a loo back through my work and remembered section 50A (3)-
"(3) Where an act is permitted under this section, it is irrelevant whether or not there exists any term or condition in an agreement which purports to prohibit or restrict the act (such terms being, by virtue of section 296A, void)."
So even if a licence agreement states that a copy can not be made as long as you satisfy the conditions in section 50A, there is no infringement at all. (At least that's what I think it means- it way to early to be talking about this stuff lol)
Yup of course any EULA etc. are subservient to the act, but what I'm asking about is the fairly common situation where discs contain a digital watermark which acts as the copyright protection mechanism. The act says we're allowed to make a backup if it's necessary for normal use, but bypassing a copyright protection mechanism is not allowed (and is in fact a more serious offence, as Saracen mentioned). I would guess making a copy of the watermark might be okay, but altering the program or the protection check itself would be highly illegal (and criminal?).
so if i make a bit by bit copy (the cline is identical to the original even the parts off the disk where the data is stored is identical on both disks )
then im not breaking any protection, there for legal
our boiler broke so we has no heating or hot water, this is the bloody result ^^
It simply isn't possible to make a bit perfect copy of some of the advanced protection today, as the disks do not adhere to the CD/DVD standards (thus can't be written back in the same way). For this reason, writing them with perfect accuracy can't be done.so if i make a bit by bit copy (the cline is identical to the original even the parts off the disk where the data is stored is identical on both disks )
then im not breaking any protection, there for legal
If you're making another disc as a backup that is necessary for your normal use of the program, then probably.so if i make a bit by bit copy (the cline is identical to the original even the parts off the disk where the data is stored is identical on both disks )
then im not breaking any protection, there for legal
Yes your correct so long as the protection program is not altered no infringement is committed.
yes bu im writeing them to my hard drive
our boiler broke so we has no heating or hot water, this is the bloody result ^^
In regard to whether you can make a legal copy if it involves getting through copy protection, then because one part of the Act says you can make a backup and another part says you can't break copy protection, I;d say this will ONLY be clearly resolved when either :-
- either an Act or SI amends the core Copyright Act, or
- a court senior enough to set binding precedent rules on it.
As far as I'm aware, there has been no such ruling (yet), but I could have missed it. Im certainly not aware of any legislation that's resolved this one.
But it's not an uncommon situation. For example, one part of the Human Rights Act enshrines the right to freedom id expression, while another asserts the right to privacy. On the surface of things, they certainly appear to be directly contradictory, though recent court rulings in several high profile celebrity lawsuits against intrusive media seem to be coming down, in many situations, in favour of privacy unless there's a clear public interest.
Of course, it's deciding exactly how the law affects such situations, and the relative merits, that is precisely why we have judges, and why "justice" is never quite as simple as pumping the facts into a computer and having the verdict pop out automatically.
Unfortunately, it's also true that the law is on the side of those with deep pockets. Even if the law says you can make a copy of a disc, do you personally want to be the one that argues with Sony's lawyers, or Microsoft's lawyers, about whether copy protection restrictions or the right to backup prevail, 'cos I don't.
In far too many areas, the law works for the wealthy, and has more to do with wealth than justice. Always has, and no doubt, always will.
Saracen your correct there has so not been a case that has adequately dealt with this issue! Sadly there have been some missed opportunities. From the research I have done for my thesis there does not seem to be any urgency to create new legislation that solely deals with computer programs and their copyright issues. The current copyright Act needs a big overhaul!! The American legislation is something the UK should be studying to produce new up to date laws (mind you the American legislation as some bugs in it)
Are you writing the watermark as well, or just interfering the with copyright protection mechanism?yes bu im writeing them to my hard drive
The whole copyright act needs updating - not just wrt computer programs, but the current farce of technically not being allowed to convert music into mp3 from a CD you own, which is quite deliberately not-enforced, is something parliament has made several noises about updating before. I think the EU are quite keen to update as well.
everything, thats on the DVD. watermarks etc. i said its bit by bit copying i cant remove watermarks etc. the file protection gets copied to
our boiler broke so we has no heating or hot water, this is the bloody result ^^
@ ALed and kalniel, I entirely agree that an overhaul is due. There was a government study (a Green paper IIRC) on a large-scale overhaul of IP rights in general a couple of years ago. It tightened up protection in a lot of areas, but one area it recommended was the fair dealing provisions should apply to "format-shifting" in much the way they do to time-shifting, precisely because of the de-facto situation with MP3 players, etc.
But there's not really any urgency in relation to format-shifting. After all, that same argument has been raging since the invention of the cassette recorder in, what, the '60s or 70's? Okay, we're now format-shifting CD to MP3, but everybody's been format-shifting from LP to cassette for decades and not would up in court. The technology has changed, and maybe the scale of it has too, but the principle remains exactly as it has long been.
Yes, your right the whole thing needs to be brought up to date. Mt previous post was focused on the computer program area as that's my area of study. Thing is any changes will take a while to happen as the consultation period will be complex. For example, computer programs are still considered as literary works in law. Today’s position of classifying computer programs as literary works stems from when computer programs listings were printed on paper, and were subsequently protected as if they were literary works. This alone in my work takes up 10k of words lol
I believe that all mediums (books, music, computer programs etc) need separate legislation under the copyright umbrella. That way we could make a lot more sense of things!
Oh and unless your really interest in this area do not start a research thesis on it lol I have 4 back up's of my work (paranoid, well most probably lol), and it can also confuse the hell out of you!
Saracen- You mentioned one thing I had forgot to touch on. Technology advances!! One problem I have come across with new legislation is that it can never be quick enough to keep up. And at the rate that new technology is developed these days i don't think new copyright protection would fix everything. The important thin is to keep the law in this area flexible! But then again thats easier said than done!
We have flexibility through vagueness and potentially contradictory actsThen a judge gets to be very flexible indeed
Hmm is anyone else reminded of those speed camera detectors for cars? You're allowed to have one but not allowed to use it while driving...
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