Something you need cracked? Tell the Copyright Office

The U.S. Copyright Office is conducting a periodic review of anti-cracking provisions set in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and is seeking feedback from the public on what you would like to see cracked and why. If there is a genuine reason why you think something should be allowed to he cracked, the office might just allow it. Congress mandated that the register of Copyrights revisit the anti-circumvention section every three years to ensure that consumers have proper access to things they have purchased.

Last time around, the office allowed the bypassing of copy protection on computer games available only in obsolete formats, cracking ebooks copy protection so that blind people can use software to read it out, cracking of web filtering software to view the list of blocked sites and cracking computer programs protected by a "dongle" that is malfunctioning. The office will take written submissions through December 1st and will accept rebuttals until February 2nd 2006.

After this time has passed, beginning in April the office will hold two sets of hearings. Basically, if the copyright office can be convinced that something copy protected prevents fair use of the work, then it might allow the copy protection to be circumvented legally. "I suspect that we will hear shortly from people who feel they have not been able to use copyrighted materials because of the DMCA," said Ralph Oman, an intellectual property attorney and former register of copyrights.

Source:
Wired

Thanks to thugs121 and Londor for the News Submission.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 8 Oct 2005 14:50

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46 comments

Mik3h

Xbox/XB 360 Games :P

-Mike

8.10.2005 15:05 #1

Dela

nice suggestion Mik3h ;-) all u need now is a legit reason why it should be allowed and then you can get out the pen and paper ;-)

8.10.2005 15:10 #2

chesty

Oh pu...............lease !!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is the point of this article ?

The United States Copyright Office would never amend or change the dvd anti circumvention clause of the DMCA.

The dvd is the MPAA'S cash cow and they would never agree to such a thing.

The DMCA has been on the books for years and the entertainment cartels have too much of an investment in buying off most of the members of the United States Congress with kickbacks and bribes.

Also congress would never agree to amending the DMCA to allow people to back up their personal dvd collection under a fair use standard.

I live in the United States and my congresswoman feels that keeping the entertainment cartels safe from their customers who want to make dvd copies for their personal use and shielding them from all of those evil people who make movie copying software is more important than the common citizens that put her into office in the place.

She always comes up with some silly arguement that copyright and patent rights is the bulwark of the US Constitution and a big cash cow export from hollyweird california and she's making the world safe from pirating.

8.10.2005 15:11 #3

Mik3h

Legit? Ummmm... lol

Nah, it should be done so people can backup ;) their games.
Games nowadays are just far too expensive to buy and have them break..

I might actually consider sending this one in :P

-Mike

8.10.2005 15:12 #4

f00dl3

"... If there is a genuine reason why you think something should be allowed to he cracked, the Office just allow it."

I think your spellcheck and grammer check is already cracked...

Why should anyone believe a news article you post if you can't even spell and use correct grammer? How legitimate is a news source that sounds like a 10 year old posting?

8.10.2005 15:29 #5

Mik3h

Who was that directed at?

-Mike

8.10.2005 15:31 #6

Nephilim

f00dl3

Cut the crap and stay on topic. I'm not going to warn you again.

8.10.2005 15:33 #7

Doggy_Bot

Well id have to say the PS3 and Xbox 360! Lord Copyright, please heed my call!

8.10.2005 15:38 #8

evilh0ly

i said dvd movies and music cds although i no it's impossible, but give it a try.

8.10.2005 15:56 #9

Auslander

not everyone speaks english as their first language, foodle. and typos are easy to make. shove it up your tailpipe.

i suppose this is good news.i might do the same a mik3h and send something in...who knows, maybe it's just one letter that can make the difference? *floats on with hopes and dreams*

8.10.2005 15:58 #10

neilm247

@f00dl3 the first rule of grammar is that grammar is spelt with an a not an e. H and B are closer together on the qwerty keyboard than a and e... You should recheck your statement before spouting such nonsense (not directed at your poor syntax or grammar usage but other things).

I think it's a bad state of affairs that an impaired person might have to wait 3 years for a piece of software to be "cracked" for usage...Is this not a form of discrimination?

8.10.2005 16:00 #11

Dela

Quote: "... If there is a genuine reason why you think something should be allowed to he cracked, the Office just allow it."

I think your spellcheck and grammer check is already cracked...

Why should anyone believe a news article you post if you can't even spell and use correct grammer? How legitimate is a news source that sounds like a 10 year old posting?Firstly, thanks for pointing that out, it tends to happen from time to time.

Secondly, if all you can do is comment on someone's grammar and not the subject matter, then don't bother posting news comments at all OK?

Finally, want to take a sly and stupid shot at my grammar? fine, but do it in a PM, so I don't publicly have to reply and tell you to go f*** yourself

BTW, I'm just kidding with you, but I sure hope you were just kidding in the first place ;-)

OH and chesty, mate... in reply to your...
Quote:What is the point of this article ? I thought it might interest a few people. Half a million people and I'm sure a lot of them find it interesting.

--------------------------------------
FOR ALL
--------------------------------------

There seems to be a "problem" at AfterDawn lately with people being unnecessarily hostile and we're in the process of finding the best solution to the problem.

As for News Comments, people just aren't taking it seriously anymore. Read the full articles, if there are errors, I have PM inbox just like you, so use that. If it's a funny mistake then sure, go ahead and post it in here so i can have a bit of a laugh at myself (which is the best thing to do, laugh it off).

But... If you don't like the news article, then you probably shouldn't bother commenting at all.

There have been a lot of cases lately where people have said some really stupid things on news comments that are unfair to us and to all the other users who read these articles. From now on, if that happens, I'll simply remove the post and write down the nickname of that user somewhere. If it persists from the same user I'll contact via PM. If that doesn't stop it, I'll just have to ban the user, and those who know me know that I rarely ban anyone, I prefer to be "nice" and even dislike the number of bans on AfterDawn forums lately - I just see them as unnecessary in most situations when things can be worked out with simple words instead.

So basically, I'm being a nice guy, can everyone do the same? Hopefully!

8.10.2005 16:04 #12

safc_66

Yeah, it's coming to something when all some people can do is pull holes in your spelling or punctuation, if you have nothing sensible to add to the topic, then stfu ! The news is an ungodly task which Dela excells in, so either play nice or don't bother.

8.10.2005 16:10 #13

darthnip

well i think it was a cool article, beats the hell out of the local news. and yes Dela you are being nice, but not me, i'm done being nice. we've tried it and it just dont work, so i'm back to being mean.

8.10.2005 16:23 #14

venomX05

Hmmmm, something that I would like to have cracked.....

Well, PC games for one...and more importantly, music files to be able to be transferred to whatever player (universally of course) and whenever you feel like it. None of this "3 times to burn then you can't use it anymore crap."

Hell...I MIGHT just go ahead and submit something in writing just to show how important it would be to all of the public.

;)

8.10.2005 16:28 #15

safc_66

Ya know something, it's the attitude of people like chesty and f00dl3 that have stopped me posting as much as i used to, aD was a great place in the past, but to question why an article was posted, or to bitch on about spelling etc, it seems we have a new influx of idiot to contend with. It's not enough to have to wade through the repetetive posts about dvd ripping/burning etc, but now people in high ranking are being questioned about the things they post. Bear in mind that this is a free service, we don't have to give time up to answer you in the first place. I think it's about time the ranks were re-defined, because most of the members now wouldn't have got off the first rung of the ladder if the ranks were based on quality not quantity !

8.10.2005 16:39 #16

jAmEsTn

Quote:I think your spellcheck and grammer check is already cracked...

Why should anyone believe a news article you post if you can't even spell and use correct grammer? How legitimate is a news source that sounds like a 10 year old posting?How legitimate is a forum post when you have a whiner who sounds like an 8 year old? Perhaps you should "spell check" yourself and use correct "grammar" in your own posts before you criticize someone else for something you're not too sharp on yourself.

On the contrary, maybe this is the big break we've all been waiting for! Enough said.

8.10.2005 16:51 #17

nonoitall

If their offer is genuine and they really are willing to make amendments to the current copyright laws (which really suck right now) then this really changes my opinion about them. It's nice that their willing to listen at least.

8.10.2005 17:16 #18

Dela

As far as I know nonoitall, they don't really make amendments to the copyright law, instead they single out stuff that the anti-circumvention will no longer apply to. Like for example, in the article, it mentions how ebook copy protection can be circumvented because people who problems with their sight may need to use programs designed to read it for them.

So it's basically giving some cracking immunity to the laws!

8.10.2005 17:32 #19

nonoitall

Yeah, I know - I should have just said changing what the law applied to rather than amendment. Sorry for the miscommunication.

8.10.2005 19:53 #20

Jasper44

The hostility of posting is going on with all forums, not just here. Sites that don't moderate their forums, like torrentspy, are terrible.

The greatest thing though is when people are bashing someone for mispelling or inproper grammar, but they do THE SAME THING. It makes you wish you could reach through the computer and smack them.

About the article, GET RID OF ALL THE STUPID COPYRIGHT LAWS!!

8.10.2005 20:06 #21

Dela

Quote:Yeah, I know - I should have just said changing what the law applied to rather than amendment. Sorry for the miscommunication.lol no prob of course, was just making sure you got thefull article, which im sure now that you did :-) It's good to see you commenting on most news items by the way, I can tell you are a clever fella :-) (Yes, i actually read the comments on all artcles i write)
Quote:The greatest thing though is when people are bashing someone for mispelling or inproper grammar, but they do THE SAME THING. It makes you wish you could reach through the computer and smack them. Thats true, But don't get me wrong, like I said, if I make a grammar or spelling mistake I have a PM inbox and I would be only too happy to be told about my mistake. However, on forums it really doesn't matter, unless someone is forcing their grammar and spelling to be so bad that you can barely read it.

8.10.2005 20:11 #22

evilh0ly

i surely agree with Dela, remember this is a forum as long as ur english are understandble who care about the grammar or whatever unless u're a nerd or u just want to be perfect.

8.10.2005 20:26 #23

dbminter

And, who wants to guess that every single person that makes a suggestions goes on a master watch list? :)

8.10.2005 21:16 #24

A_Klingon

[Sigh.....]

I'm sorry - but I just got around to reading this thread, and I have to intrude.

f00dl3, you are a very rude individual. This is not a flame, it is an observation. I believe you owe Dela an apology for your incredibly tacky and shallow statement:
Quote:I think your spellcheck and grammer check is already cracked... Why should anyone believe a news article you post if you can't even spell and use correct grammer? How legitimate is a news source that sounds like a 10 year old posting?You, sir, epitomize much of the discontent we are seeing in the forums here lately. Since Dela has graciously forgiven you by virtue of his gentle response to your crude observations, I won't press the matter, but I would just like to add, that if his grammar offends your sensibilities that much, I suggest you find another forum. Fast. Before you put your foot in your mouth again. You have no idea how long Dela has been here, and frankly your hurtful comments won't be tolerated again. Get my drift?

I apologize for derailing yet another topic.

Darthnip, I want to assure you I have carefully read your sentiments in the Lounge, and I am beginning to lean very heavily in agreement with you. These events are not isolated incidents; they are becoming the norm around here, and if I have to become known as "The Mod From Hell", then so be it. Lately I've begun to develop an itchy trigger finger over the mouse button.

(Rant over).

Let me know, foodl3, if my grammar above meets with your approval. I'm not surprised you have failed to respond to any of this. Attacking the Mods ain't gonna earn you no brownie points 'round here.

-- A_K --

8.10.2005 22:48 #25

nonoitall

Quote:It's good to see you commenting on most news items by the way, I can tell you are a clever fella :-)You just made my day Dela. :D I'm flattered. I know I'm definitely guilty of the occasional outburst from time-to-time on the forums too though. The only way to keep it under control that I've seen that works (somewhat) is extremely strict, no-tolerance moderation. (Not trying to say the mods here don't do a good job, but it's something that can never be too good.)

In another forum I frequent, unwarranted insults and offensive remarks from one member to another in the public forums are just unacceptable. They also have a warning system that helps avoid immediate suspension of people who just had a slip of the tongue. Anyway, it works fairly well and I thought I'd throw it out there. If people really want to chew each other out, they can always use PMs and e-mail, so it's not like they can't express their opinions.

8.10.2005 22:54 #26

A_Klingon

Hi Dela!! :-)
Quote:As for News Comments, people just aren't taking it seriously anymore.Oh, contraire, mon ami!

The News Update section is the _first_ place I visit when I log on. Unfortunately I can't spend very much time in the reg'lar threads because I am in the process of ripping up carpets; moving furniture.... (we're selling our house shortly after living here for 40 years...) so I'll be moving soon.

But I always come here first to see what's happening out there. I can't get embroiled in the (other) forums like I used to because I've got a bunch of real-estate people showing strangers around!! (I'll have to unplug my computer tomorrow. OUCH! Don't know when I'll be able to plug it back in again.)

You Rock Dude! Don't let us miss anything in the upcoming blu-ray and hd-dvd arena! I need someone to talk me out of becoming an 'Early Adopter'. <g>

-- Mike --

8.10.2005 23:34 #27

Mik3h

Yeah same here, everytime I'm on, the aD news page is the first page I'm on :)

-Mike

The Seeding Saviours� {SS}

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/15105 - Before Asking How To Burn PS2/PS1/Xbox Games.. Check here!

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/228294 - Before Asking How to Copy Xbox games.. Check here!

http://adbuddies.ccsau.com/chat/index.html - Join Us Live On IRC!

9.10.2005 02:01 #28

f00dl3

I officially lable this thread as a flame thread.

The DMCA - Stripping your rights away, one at a time.

9.10.2005 05:17 #29

neilm247

I will not take the bait...
I will not take the bait...
I will not take the bait...

Keep up the good work Dela, you very reasonable langer!!

9.10.2005 05:30 #30

Auslander

you won't, neilm, but i will.

foodl3, you don't have the authority to label this thread anything. but here, i'll make you feel better--have some truth: you are a sad, lonely, sadistic little man that only finds pleasure when hurting others. you're afraid of anyone discovering your inferiority, so you lash out with a superior attitude, only to give yourself away in a heartbeat, online as you do in real life. perhaps your IQ is on the same level as your grammar? did daddy not hug you enough? maybe he hugged you too much? hmm...no one would be criticizing you if you hadn't unfairly started it. grow a pair and grow up.

sorry, everyone. i took the bait :(

9.10.2005 05:54 #31

A_Klingon

Quote:I will not take the bait...
I will not take the bait ...
I will not take the bait ...LOL!

That was cool! :) It reminds me of Bart Simpson at the beginning of the cartoons where he is in school standing at the chalkboard writing...

I will not piss the mods off...
I will not piss the mods off...
I will not piss the mods off...

foodl3:

I officially lable this thread as a flame thread.

You spelled "label" wrong, dude.

9.10.2005 06:51 #32

Auslander

i've gotten my weekly dose of irony in just over a day :D

9.10.2005 07:02 #33

thelox714

and these comments have nothing to do with the news article..

well.. thats it..

i guess its a good thing that the department is doing that... the examples posted to make sense if you think about it.

9.10.2005 07:54 #34

Dela

Quote:You just made my day Dela. :D I'm flattered. I know I'm definitely guilty of the occasional outburst from time-to-time on the forums too though. The only way to keep it under control that I've seen that works (somewhat) is extremely strict, no-tolerance moderation. (Not trying to say the mods here don't do a good job, but it's something that can never be too good.)

In another forum I frequent, unwarranted insults and offensive remarks from one member to another in the public forums are just unacceptable. They also have a warning system that helps avoid immediate suspension of people who just had a slip of the tongue. Anyway, it works fairly well and I thought I'd throw it out there. If people really want to chew each other out, they can always use PMs and e-mail, so it's not like they can't express their opinions.Ye mi feel your pain about the forum, it's one big mess lately, but I'm sure it will get back on it's feet soon. People are just gonna have to sit down and talk this shit through.

A_Klingon, too many lines to quote ;-) but yes i will definitely keep you up to date with blu-ray and hd-dvd developments, thats what im here for ;-)

TO ALL, let's forget about the drama earlier on in the thread and consider the matter closed, no point in detering other users from commenting, i think you'll all agree.

9.10.2005 08:17 #35

darthnip

Klingy - Quote:and if I have to become known as "The Mod From Hell", then so be it.no way buddy! thats my title!! :)

9.10.2005 09:15 #36

Nephilim

Quote: I officially lable this thread as a flame thread.I told you to cut the crap and stay on topic. You didn't. Bye.

Forum Rules! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487

My movies! http://www.intervocative.com/dvdcollection.aspx/Rephaim

"And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33

9.10.2005 09:22 #37

peanuts2

I like to crack these grammer winers heads open for being babies.Is this the school forum? anyhow I like a crack of all the software that I can't afford like adobe products.Photoshop cost 800 dollars and it usless if you send files to someone with an updated version than yours.And all microsoft software that cost 2 weeks salary.

9.10.2005 09:24 #38

Mik3h

But there are cracks for it.

I thought it meant cracks for things that don't exist.. Like.. Xbox games CAN be cracked, but the disc protection can't.

-Mike

9.10.2005 09:32 #39

shawnnaly

i think some games should be. Let me explain..
Pc games like farcry (yes old game but still good) since i got the new pc few months back i hadnt installed it again installed it last nite and guess what i cant get on the mp due to the cd check. It keeps giving me the error abotu cd check well duh i know my cd is / has been used b4 BY ME. ubisoft aint gonna do anything about it and i read on their support forums alot of ppl are having the SAME issue. Then on my daughters copy of farcry she cant even get to the screen to put the cd key in. Its the same with Half Life 2 as well the steam protection i mean i know they are putting the security against others using it but sheesh its a pain for the ones who do own the games :( i am sure theres other games too that have simliar issues if u format

"I was just starting to get used to today and along came tomorrow"

9.10.2005 12:01 #40

Nephilim

Outstanding point shawnnaly.

PC game protections have become absolutely ridiculous in recent months. Take Doom3 for instance which uses SafeDisc 3.20.022. The very same day it hit the shelves we had numerous posts here with folks wanting answers as to why the game kept giving emulation errors and refusing to run on PC's that had no sort of emulation or virtual drive software on them. I saw it first hand on my buddy's Dell - the game flat ass refused to run and he'd never had any sort of emulation/virtual drive software installed.

The protections have become so arrogantly picky that folks with older drives may not be able to run the game, those who use Nero's Image Drive will have to remove and don't forget the stand up folks that pay good money for these games but have to jump through friggin hoops to make a copy to protect their $50 original if at all.

We customers are completely screwed when it comes to situations like that with Doom3. Think about it - retailers will not give refunds on any software that comes with a serial but you don't know if the game won't run till you open the friggin thing and install it. I know several folks that saw Doom3 as the last straw for them. Why pay $50 for a game that may not run when you can join the ranks of scumbags and download a cracked copy that'll run better than the defective factory one?

That whole situation really pisses me off because I support the game makers 110% and every game I play is bought and paid for but how can I justify supporting them when their product is intentially defective and may not even work on my PC? I don't make the kind of money where I can just blow off $50 but on the other hand I have a real problem with the boatloads of punks who think they deserve all their games for free because they're the major reason these protections are so grossly overboard nowadays. The decision to protect games didn't come out of a vacuum.

9.10.2005 14:13 #41

Rikoshay

Well, I think that the major problem with today's media is that EVERYTHING is over $50. I wouldn't see it as problem if the products at least started at $30, but they don't see the $2 cost of the actual media and $23 for the actual context enough to have a $5 gain multiplied by the millions more that would buy more at that price. Isn't that the real problem here, that the companies make all these protections because they don't want to lose the margain of individuals that actually know that their being ripped off?

9.10.2005 16:24 #42

Jasper44

Sony wastes a lot of money on copyright protections. They have all the fancy stuff on their new dvd's like puppet lock and arccos, or whatever they are called, and they probably payed a great deal for those protections. Yet people like AnyDVD crack them in like 5 minutes.

9.10.2005 16:40 #43

l34merik

yea if people just stop wasting money on copy protections, then maybe they could put more money into the quality, then lower the prices of these $50 games and they'll probably still make a profit. I mean how much does it cost to make a game disc like $0.05?

15.10.2005 12:09 #44

Mik3h

It's not the discs that count though, it's the thought and ideas, hard work and production that make up the real price.

-Mike

15.10.2005 15:41 #45

duckNrun

Copy protection of any sort on any media is not a recently discovered issue. Back in the day of my fabulous C-64, games and programs had protections on those 5 1/4 floppies. Things like disk labels that were illegal or too long. A regularly made backup would result in a non matching disk label and the software would recognize this and not let you use the disk. Sectors that were 'tagged' as empty or bad but really containing vital info. A regular copy would skip over this data since it appeared to not have any.

Back then a program (disk crawler?) basically did a bit copy of the complete disk, an actual 1:1 image of every block/sector on the disk. This would normally beat every issue since it was a true clone and for other small or singular issues dos could be used.

It may be worse today than in the past but this battle has been raging from the beginning

15.10.2005 22:04 #46

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