Is 321's case going to damage fair use laws?

[vorbis]

just wondering. I mean in general this crowd merely repackage freeware as some kind of uber tool. Will the current case damage out right to make backups? I say this because this crowd are probably going to be easily defeated in the courts thus allowing the MPAA to use them as an example for all things dvd backup related.

[chemmajik]

The software source could be released to the net as a whole, doubt what the judge says will matter, did it matter in the past?

[wmansir]

I think unless the supreme court overturns the DMCA (it should, I don't know if it will) then the very idea of limited copyright is in danger. The movie industry is already using it to protect themselves, in recent months printer makers have abused the law to protect their valuable ink cart revenue. Once other industries learn they can protect themselves from fair use/copyright expiration/competition just by employing simple encryption (even where it is not needed like print carts) then copyright laws will be irrelevant. And that's the point.

For example, look at how drugs became illegal in the US. It was thought to be unconstitutional to make drugs federally illegal. Since it was outside the scope of the powers granted to congress in the constitution (secure borders, collect taxes, ect). So instead they used the explicitly given power to "collect taxes" to create a regulation and taxation system with stiff penalties for those that did not comply. Then through bureaucratic moves in the executive branch they made it impossible to comply. (For example, to receive a Marijuana Tax Stamp you need to bring in your marijuana, which would get you arrested for possession.)

Today, the entertainment industry (among others) know they can't do away with certain aspects of copyright law because it's too explicit in the constitution and would require an amendment. So instead they are trying an end-run around the laws.