Hurley's World

US court kills anti-piracy 'flag' - An appeals court rejects broadcast regulations that try to impose anti-piracy technology on digital TVs. [BBC - Technology]

All I have to say is awesome. I'm totally ok with the enforcement of copyright law, but the proposed changes would be going to far. While I'm not a lawyer, my understanding is that I have the right to make copies of copyrighted material for personal use under the fair use provision.

I think the real issue here for televison companies is that they have found that releasing whole seasons of shows on DVD can be extremely profitable. If users can copy the shows they want to DVD and the technology can edit out the commercials, then, quite possibly the market will shrink for these DVD purchases. In addition, they are probably worried about the content being shared on the Internet for free download outside the fair use law.

However, overall I'm sick and tired of the entertainment and software industries making it impossible for me to do things which are well within my rights to do. I know there are a few bad apples out there, but just because it's simpler to do it this way doesn't mean they should.