OT: Software copyright law?

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Couldn't the person have them arrested for threats?

[Will]

As far as CDs/DVDs go, there hasn't been much success in prosecuting people breaking copy protection when all that is needed is holding down the Shift key (if using Windows; do nothing if you use anything else) or using a sharpie marker. It gets a little iffy for programs like DeCSS, but after initial prosecution on that, I haven't heard of any progress on it, and it's still out there.

[AgentZero]

Renegade 13 said:
I wonder which law would supersede the other in a court of law? Your right to make archival copies, or the illegality of breaking copy protection...

Well, I'm just guessing here, but if a court had to deal with a case involving contradictory laws, they'd be more inclined to hold up whichever one existed first. Precendent and all that. So your right to make archival copies would take precedent since it existed before the laws about breaking coppy protection. Hell, it exisited even before they HAD copy protection.
Course I'm not a lawyer, so I can't be sure, but it makes sense to me. Which probably means I'm wrong.

[Renegade 13]

But does that mean you have the right to break copy protection if it's preventing you from making a legal copy? Not that I could break copy protection even if I wanted to, I'm not that computer savvy.

[Fyron]

No. Breaking the copy protection is illegal, so you could be prosecuted for that... Of course, the whole thing is a heinous violation of consumer rights, so it is best to ignore it and go on practicing fair use rights. As a Canadian, it doesn't apply to you, so you need not worry.

[Atrocities]

One of these days people will discover that copyright laws are about as worthless as the paper they have been written upon. Look that the chines, they don't care about US copyright laws.

[Atrocities]

I am my own copyright law! (For validation see Mr. Remington and his associate Mr. Ruger.)

[Jack Simth]

Let's see....
1) leagally speaking, the EULA is only in power because you click the "I agree" button during installation.
2) leagally speaking, the only thing making decompiling and recompiling the program with modifications for your own use illeagle is the EULA
3) Regular copyright law (no distribution) still applies

Query: What happens if, before you install the software, before you encounter the EULA in question, you decompile the software, then recompile it without the EULA?

[AgentZero]

Imperator Fyron said:
No. Breaking the copy protection is illegal, so you could be prosecuted for that... Of course, the whole thing is a heinous violation of consumer rights, so it is best to ignore it and go on practicing fair use rights. As a Canadian, it doesn't apply to you, so you need not worry.

Well, killing someone is also illegal, however it is legal to kill someone in self-defense. Here, you have two seemingly contradictory laws, one saying you cannot kill, and the other saying you can to protect yourself. Obviously, the law stating you may kill in self-defense takes precedent over the one stating you cannot kill, as an exception is made in cases where breaking one law (killing) would prevent you from excersising your right to something you are entitled to (living). Therefore, one can argue that an exception must be made allowing you to break one law (copying the software) in order to excersise your right to something you are entitled to (archival copy).

PS: This argument actually works! A few years ago I posted a query on an unnamed software company's forum asking how to go about creating a CD image of the installation CDs so I could have a backup. Shortly thereafter, the thread was deleted and I recieved a rather nasty email from their law department stating that what I was attempting was in violation of copyright laws, the EULA, etc. and that if I did not desist in my attempts to do so, I would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I wrote them back a polite little reply informing them that their attempts to prevent me from making an archival copy were in violation of MY legally enshrined right to create an archival copy of legally purchased software. I included a scanned copy of my receipt and advised them (bluffing, of course) that if they did not desist in their attempts to deny me my consumer rights, then I would prosecute them to the full extent of the law. Within three days, my thread was reinstated, and I recieved an apology from their law department along with a detailed email from their tech support on how to create a CD image. Sweet, no?
Also kinda helped that they were running a massive 'Customer First' advertising blitz at the time, so a lawsuit from a customer claiming the company was attempting to deny him his rights wouldn't have gone over too well with the almighty marketing department.

[Sivran]

It's your software. Back it up.

In Oz, click-through EULAs are unenforcable as they were not part of the original "contract of sale" ...pretty cool, I think.