BobDole42

wow. Circuit City is apparently offering to rip your dvds to a digital file for your ipod, PSP, etc. for $10 a disc. This is a clear violation of the DMCA. There is no wiggle-room here - the statute is clear and courts that interpret it have been applying it as written (any attempt to break the encryption of a copyrighted work, even if done for a lawful purpose (e.g. fair use) is a violation of the Act). wow.

http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/...ner-192049.php

Numanoid

I'm betting that's from one store with a dumbass manager, rather than a corporate policy. Anyone seen it at their local CC?

BobDole42

You're probably right. I would definitely like to know if someone has seen it.

Spiky

Yet another reason to stay away.

renaldow

I was at a CC last Sunday, and didn't see that advertised or offered anywhere.

tonyc3742

What about those places where you send in the cd and they rip them to mp3 for you? [since it's sooooooo difficult to rip an audio cd]. I believe CC is entwined with one of those companies too. Is that legal?

Josh H

That should be, as long as the CD being ripped doesn't have copy protection.

The laws deal with breaking the encryption rather than with copying the content specifically (assuming you own the DVD/CD in question). If it's not encrypted, you can rip it, make copies of it, etc. as long as you still own the original.

BobDole42

Agreed. The problem with CC's service is that all commercial DVDs are encrypted with CSS and there is no way to rip them legally. I suppose that they could be capturing the analog video and audio and encoding that into a mpeg, but that would result in a lower quality image and take forever. My guess is that they are just breaking the copy protection.

DVD Josh

Bob, are you sure that CC hasn't negotiated the right to break the encryption?

BobDole42

I would be shocked if this were the case. The DVDCCA has been unwilling to allow any sort of copying for years. It makes no sense for CC to have brokered some sort of deal. If that were true, it would be front page news on every legal and tech page on the net.

BobDole42

Update: it looks like the sign is some employee's joke or a hoax. CC denies offering this service in any of its stores:

http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/archives/001053.html