12-12-2004, 09:03 AM
Moldran,Dec 6 2004, 04:37 PM Wrote:Yep. And in Germany, using programs to get around copy-protection mechanisms is now illegal *even if you legally purchased your copy of the game*. Nice, eh?
[right][snapback]62042[/snapback][/right]
But itis not really a copy protection. It is an access protection. You can copy the CD with no problem at all regardless of if there is emulators or not on your computer. It is accessing the game that it protects and hence it should not fall under copy protection.
One can possibly argue that it does bot, that is that some copy protection is tied to the access control, but that is in my opinion a way to just sneaking in protection for things you are not really meant to have protection on. This was actually noted in the new proposal for Swedish copyright law (due to EU directive). That it was ONLY copy-protection and its circumvention that is protected. Not for example access control. In addition, if some protection did more than prevent copying, it would NOT get the protection from circumvention since that would give the copyright holder far to much power. So basically they said that it is up to the copyright holder to either make just a copy-protection and get protection from circumvention, or tie it with other things such as access control and lose the protection. I think that is sound reasoning. To be really nitpicking, it is about circumventing any protection that deals with a right the copyright holder has, so not strictly just copying but access and use is not an exclusive right to the copyright holder so is not protected.
There are three types of people in the world. Those who can count and those who can't.