Ripping DVDs for Online Video Now Legal under DMCA Exemptions

[TrafficProducer]

New DMCA Exemptions: Ripping DVDs for Online Video Now Legal

From WebProWire email listed on Newteevee

The U.S. Copyright Office published six new exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) anti-circumvention clause today which should make it far easier for online filmmakers to legally use commercial DVDs. Up until now, filmmakers were actually breaking the law when ripping DVDs to get footage because the act of ripping entails circumventing copy-protection measures

Under the new rules, it’s legal to circumvent such measures if you’re a documentary filmmaker or if you intend to use the material for “noncommercial videos.” The EFF, which was actively pushing for these exemptions, is celebrating them as a huge success on its blog

Read in Full at New DMCA Exemptions

[deepsand]

This merely explicitly clarifies that Fair Use is here applicable.

It does not sanction wholesale copying under any circumstances.

[Zethix]

So presumably this is intended for situations such as movie reviews, where a snippet of the movie is included with the review.

[deepsand]

That would a perfectly legitimate application of Fair Use.