Italians vs. Sony, Buena Vista and Universal.

[Sharktooth]

Today 3 italians sued those companies for violating the italian Fair Use rights (http://www.interlex.it/Testi/l41_633.htm#71-sexies) for not being able to backup their legally owned DVDs (protected with DRM schemes).
Italy has an explicit law that grants the copy of the original content for personal backup purpouses. DRM infected media doesnt permit to legally copy those content, coz the user cant (as defined by law) breach protection schemes. Those users requested to the court to act to make Sony, Buena Vista and Universal release a tool for making backups of those contents or remove DRM from all of their products.

The original article (in italian) is here: http://punto-informatico.it/p.aspx?id=1691548

[Sirber]

nice one!

[quake74]

Well, I remeber an article from this summer on "AF digitale", an italian paper, where they bought different CD and DVD and asked the publishing company how could they make a personal backup. The most common answer was that they could do an analog backup (go through a VCR and tape that) and one company (I don't remember which one) actually sent them a VCR version of the movie ;) Obviously this usually happened not on their first request, but on their second one sent by their legal department.

[Sharktooth]

Yeah, i remember it too. Well, soon we'll see if DRM becomes suddenly useless...:)
In the meanwhile check this out: http://www.drm.info

[jonny]

we also pay a tax in every blank madia, justified by the grants of making private copies
it's only a little piece in the blood sucking puzzle
i'm sure italy is not the only one with such contradictions

[Sharktooth]

at least we have rules on in what order laws should be applied...

[bond]

does italy also have a law that disallows breaking drm? :D

[emmel]

Where I live in northern Europe, the law is pretty much the same as in Italy. It allows making a copy of any "title", but forbids avoiding "strong" content protection. What is "strong" is yet to be measured... Probably nothing used on cd or dvd, say the experts. Anyways, the situation is pretty schitzofrenic... I'll be following the Milano case, and switch to Linux most probably.

[virus]

I'll be following the Milano case, ...
Don't hold your breath then. Italy is renowned for the absurd length of court trials - we get some sanction from the EU about once every week because of that. Maybe around 2010 or 2011 we'll finally know. But I wouldn't be surprised if it lasts even more.

[DrPuma]

I also read the Af Digitale article, i'm italian and I hope it could be a smart move for judges to establish that consumers do have their rights to the private copy.

[Hyper Shinchan]

Well, I hope that the European Community won't try to change our laws to make them more pleasant to the big majors....

[Doobie]

I don't read Italian. The law may allow a person to make a backup. But, does it forbid the use of disclosed technologies that prevent backups? Even if so, outside pressure will force them to change the law, hopefully without breaking them from their illusion of Italian sovernity.

For example, under Fair Use in America, I'm allowed to play a short bit of a movie for a movie review, but I'm not allowed to bypass the DRM to get that short bit.

[Hyper Shinchan]

hopefully without breaking them from their illusion of Italian sovernity.
Italy lost its sovernity a lot of time ago (in the 1945)
But, does it forbid the use of disclosed technologies that prevent backups?
Yes. It forbid it. The point 4 of the art.71-sexies says that the copyright holders must allow back-ups of the media to the users that legally purchased the media.
But the article 102-quater says that the cryptation that the cryptation of the media is legal =_=''''
Maybe they would rewrite this law....

[adam]

For example, under Fair Use in America, I'm allowed to play a short bit of a movie for a movie review, but I'm not allowed to bypass the DRM to get that short bit.

That's not true. If the underlying action qualifies as Fair Use than the DMCA cannot prevent you from doing it. It expressly says this under 1201(c). The key is that you can only bypass the protection mechanism if it is the only way to exercize your Fair Use right. So if you were presenting the clip to review its visual quality, you'd need the digital source. You absolutely could bypass CSS encryption under these circumstances and it would not violate the DMCA. If you were presenting the clip just to review the acting or something like this than an analogue clip would work just as well, so you would not be permitted to bypass encryption in this case. (if we're talking about an online review than yes you'd have to make an analogue copy and then digitize it, or use still photos. Just something short of a perfect digital copy.)

[adam]

Btw: I don't speak Italian but my guess is that this has nothing to do with Fair Use. Most countries have explicit laws allowing the backup of certain formats, primarily computer software and music recordings, and some have such explicit laws for audio/visual works like DVDs as well. But in every case these laws are completely separate from that country's Fair Use provisions. Its not something that most people want to hear but Fair Use has absolutely nothing to do with backing up. Those rights, if allowed, are given through explicit laws. I believe this Italian lawsuit is addressing a catch-22 created between this explicit backup law and their version of the DMCA. Fair Use rights are not at issue.

[Doobie]

That's not true. If the underlying action qualifies as Fair Use than the DMCA cannot prevent you from doing it. It expressly says this under 1201(c). The key is that you can only bypass the protection mechanism if it is the only way to exercize your Fair Use right.

You are right. But, still, there is no right to be able to circumvent protection under 1201c for Fair Use. If the Italian law were similiar, there would be no grounds to sue companies for violating Fair Use or backup rights. But, apparently, this is not the case.

[johnhamler1]

here my professional translation:


Rome - the technologies anticopy, as well as beloveds to major how much invise to the customers, end once again in the eye of the cyclone: three Italian consumers have made to know to have under way as many judicial procedures so that the Court of Milan assesses the violation of the laws on the copyright from part of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Seen Buena Home Entertainment (Disney) and Universal Pictures. An action without previous in Italy.

The three, explain their lawyers, have acquired regularly of supports (DVD) in order to make use of some cinematographic works. Wanting to take advantage itself of the rights previewed from the art.71 sexies of the law on the copyright they have but stated that measures of protection DRM placed on the DVD acquire to you they do not concur they to execute the private copy. From here the decision of Claudius Barbers, Duranti Daisy and Andrea Giacomel to address to the Judicial authority.

"the problem - the avv explains to Computer science Point. Lorenzo Cionti that united follows the case to the avv. Ferdinand Cionti - that, for how much the norm is confused and conflicting, the holders of the rights is obligates to you to concur the realization of one private copy, like it is previewed express from the art. 71sexies, codicil 4, l.d.a.".

The private copy, like famous, represents an exception to the rights of the author: the law grants to this last availability of every decision with respect to the spread of a work to an only condition, and that is that to the consumer whom it acquires copy is given faculty to carry out of one. With diffusing itself of the technologies anticopy, the private copy reveals a justification in order to maintain controversial the fair compensation while still alive, that one that that is satisfied to the SIAE when supports vergini and devices electronic you of recording are acquired, independently from the use that if of ago.

The informing principle of the fair compensation is like famous the restitituzione to the holders of the copyright of a "quantum" for the use of those supports in carrying out the private copy. The SIAE previews also of the reimbursements for who uses the supports for purpose that null they have to that to see with the copyright, but they are not only complex to obtain, they are also available only for sure companies and not for the private one.

The "mechanism" of the private copy, therefore, confligge with the DRM but is not only also the essential support for extraordinary entrances in quota SIAE deriving from the sale of digital products them and not. That they have to that to make with the copyright little imports.

"To this point - Cionti comments - he would be simpler to remove the right to the private copy therefore like the fair compensation, like happens in countries which United Kingdom". A provocazione, perhaps, that it finds an echo in the proposal of Nokia and Philips to cancel the fair compensation just in virtue of the fact that it has by now acquired epidemic proportions I use it of systems DRM (Digital Rights Management) for the distribution of the "works of the talent". DRM that the law explicitly prohibits violare.

It is obvious is that the norm lend to one ambiguity more times denounced from the giuristi but end systematically ignored here from great part of the political world. The same ones major do not know where to blink the head, as inquiry of Digital review AF has testified one already the slid May: to the demand for the consumers on "as to proceed" EMI it made to know that the copy cannot be made, Sony Music invited to the reproduction of the CD on analogic support, BMG supported that an analogic copy "could have to make". And the same embarrassment is this that has received the demands for explanation of the three that hour they have stall denunciation and that they are found without precise indications from part of the holders of the rights.

"Without to count - Cionti explains - than the analogic copy of a DVD, as an example on VHS, it would concur to only reproduce a part of the contents of the same DVD, could not therefore in no case to be defined one copy". Celebre producing Claudius Cecchetto, as the readers of Computer science Point will remember, with a provocazione had distributed a CD of the own scuderia in double copy, a solution that would concur with the consumer of having, of fact, two originate them. But it is a road that then has not been continuation from some producer. "our hope - Cionti concludes - is that this action can also contribute to reopen the debate on one normative as well as important how much confusing

[dngnta]

Well, I remeber an article from this summer on "AF digitale", an italian paper, where they bought different CD and DVD and asked the publishing company how could they make a personal backup. The most common answer was that they could do an analog backup (go through a VCR and tape that) and one company (I don't remember which one) actually sent them a VCR version of the movie ;) Obviously this usually happened not on their first request, but on their second one sent by their legal department.

That's fairly ridiculous, because the Macrovision signal makes it impossible to record DVDs into VHS. You'd have to hack the player to disable Macrovision (which would again be illegal) or hope that the DVD in question doesn't turn Macrovision on (which isn't the case in 99.9999% of commercial DVDs). They really didn't think it through, did they.

[quake74]

That's fairly ridiculous, because the Macrovision signal makes it impossible to record DVDs into VHS. You'd have to hack the player to disable Macrovision (which would again be illegal) or hope that the DVD in question doesn't turn Macrovision on (which isn't the case in 99.9999% of commercial DVDs). They really didn't think it through, did they.

They had a farly small sample (5 or 6 dvds I think) but at least one of them had no Macrovision on, and 1 other had no CSS at all.