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French Court - Private Copying is Not a Right

By DrewWilson

Says companies are allowed to put Digital Rights Management on their CDs, even if it doesn't work on some devices. It may be a small setback to advocates who want to broaden their rights when they copy a CD. According to 01net (Google Translated), a French court has ruled that if a company puts Digital Rights Management (DRM) on their CD and a consumer can't play it, the company did not break any laws and cannot be held liable for damages. Naturally, proponents for DRM applauded the decision (Google Translation) While many users of content may feel that copying is a right, the ruling seems to just reinforce what has been generally set in stone in many other countries, that, legally speaking, private copying is an exception, not a right. If a company chooses to put DRM on their CD, then they are entitled to do so.

Full post as published by ZeroPaid on December 10, 2008 (boomark / email).