Thank you DMCA

[Void(null)]

"Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today reveals new exceptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that address the legality of jailbreaking your Apple products, unlocking your cell phone, and bypassing computer game digital rights management systems...

...(4) Video games accessible on personal computers and protected by technological protection measures that control access to lawfully obtained works, when circumvention is accomplished solely for the purpose of good faith testing for, investigating, or correcting security flaws or vulnerabilities, if:
(i) The information derived from the security testing is used primarily to promote the security of the owner or operator of a computer, computer system, or computer network; and
(ii) The information derived from the security testing is used or maintained in a manner that does not facilitate copyright infringement or a violation of applicable law.

(5) Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete. A dongle shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured or if a replacement or repair is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace"

- Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/5596568/new-dmca-rules-say-jailbreaking-your-iphone-is-okay)

Perhaps this will encourage publishers like Ubisoft to stop treating their paying customers like Criminals. We now have a very large and well lit loophole when dealing with invasive DRM on games we have lawfully purchased.

[Renevent]

It's definitely a win for consumers, but I think most companies will still move forward with DRM. I hope that companies like Ubisoft look at the success of steam though for direction. I don't mind DRM so much, but I would like them to do it in a way where it's almost like a benefit to us rather than a hindrance.

[Void(null)]

I don't have a problem with DRM, I have a problem with having less and less access to a product I have paid for.

Steam and Impulse both use DRM and I buy games from those two sources almost exclusively.

My problem is with things like Ubisofts "Must be connected" servers for single player games, with Limited Install DRM which turns my purchase into an overpriced rental because after X installs some money grubbing publisher gets to dictate to me if I can install the game I have purchased, and services like Games For Windows Live that use a Blanket limited install policy and just so happened to conveniently not mention this until 2K exposed it during the BioShock 2 fiasco, to cover their own asses.

I also dislike the war on used sales being masked as a war on piracy, playing up on consumer loyalty in order to scare customers, inflate prices, create witch hunts and limit legitimate access to the product.. all the while further lining the pockets of assholes like Bobby Kotick.

Meanwhile, actual Piracy goes largely unchecked and sites like The Pirate Bay laugh in the face of threats, legal action and any form of copy protection that publishers can think of, so once again these assholes turn to scare tactics, arresting Grandparents and Fining children hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars.

When really what these companies should be doing, is attempting to restore consumer confidence and offer services and a quality play experience that those who Pirated the games will not be able to match.

Steam offers an amazing amount of services, from its built in community, voice chat, access to your games from anywhere and any computer in the world and really great sales and offers.

Impulse offers less features but is also less invasive, once you activate a game you don't have to load up impulse to run it.

Even EA has seen the light and is using DLC as a means of DRM, holding back content and offering it as a reward for buying the product.

Publishers absolutely need to protect their product and there are many legitimate uses for DRM, such a preventing Mundane Piracy like the good old don't copy that floppy ads aimed anyone with a spare floppy disc, as well as day 1 Piracy which can do a great deal of damage to a products launch.

However Consumers rights and access when they Purchase a Product is becoming less, and less and publishers are taking more and more liberties to the point that "Pirate" now shares as much in common with the "Communist" of the McCarthy era, a blanket scape goat used to inspire fear and give excuse to unreasonable and sometimes downright immoral acts by equally unreasonable and downright immoral people. I am far more afraid of the Harmful impact Bobby Kotick and Larry Probst has had on the Entertainment Industry than the actions of James Burt (http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/nintendo-pirate-just-a-shy-gamer-dad-20100210-nrlr.html) or Gertrude Walton. (http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2005/02/4587.ars)

Anywho, that's neither here nor there as it seems sanity is prevailing and the Courts are slowly begining to protect and restore the rights of the consumer once more.

Another great article on the original subject can be found over at Ars. (http://arstechnica.com/software/news/2010/07/court-breaking-drm-for-a-fair-use-is-legal.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss)

[ASYLUM101]

Hopefully UBISOFT will change their DRM, but I doubt it. Funny thing is, it doesn't even work. Pirates still play it like nothing, and buyers are severely hindered while pirates can play it offline.

[eisprinzessin]

Do you mean Ubisoft forces people, who cannot play games legally, to become pirates? :D

[Void(null)]

Hopefully UBISOFT will change their DRM, but I doubt it. Funny thing is, it doesn't even work. Pirates still play it like nothing, and buyers are severely hindered while pirates can play it offline.

I doubt this will directly force Ubisoft to change their direction, however it is the first step.

If the law ends up allowing us to use a NoCd Crack on any game I have legally bought and paid for, as long as no copyright infringement is being committed, then this means that Publishers will have to come back and review their current DRM practices.

Now that could mean harsher DRM, with more people moving to the closed server/permanent connection model but if they are smart, they will try to be ahead of the game and attempt to win customer loyalty and reward legitimate paying customers.

[ASYLUM101]

Do you mean Ubisoft forces people, who cannot play games legally, to become pirates? :D

If by CANNOT, you mean are UNABLE due to Ubisoft's DRM, then yes.

[Void(null)]

Or the innumerable people who are forced to commit fraud by lieing about their location to GFWL, to play a game that was sold to them locally in their country in a region that GFWL does not support.

[Void(null)]

And yet another Ars Article.

Click Me to Read (http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/07/apple-loses-big-in-drm-ruling-jailbreaks-are-fair-use.ars)