Judge suggests DMCA allows DVD ripping if you own the DVD

[DainBramaged]

A Monday ruling suggests that educational institutions are entitled to stream legally purchased DVDs on campus without the permission of copyright holders. A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit charging UCLA with violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other provisions of copyright law by ripping DVDs and streaming them to students.

"UCLA is pleased that the court dismissed the plaintiffs' lawsuit challenging UCLA's practice of streaming previously purchased video content for educational purposes," said Scott Waugh, UCLA executive vice chancellor and provost. "The court ruling acknowledges what UCLA has long believed, that streaming licensed DVDs related to coursework to UCLA students over UCLA's secure network is an appropriate educational use."

The lawsuit was brought by a trade association of educational video publishers called the Association for Information Media and Equipment (AIME), and one of its members, Ambrose Video Publishing. The plaintiffs allege that around January 2006, UCLA purchased video streaming software that included a DVD-ripping capability, and began streaming DVDs it had purchased—including some belonging to Ambrose—to members of the UCLA community.

Ambrose and AIME sued in December 2010, alleging copyright infringement, breach of contract, and other harms. They argued that UCLA violated the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA when it ripped Ambrose's copy-protected DVDs. They also argued that its DVDs are sold under a licensing agreement that prohibits rebroadcast and public display. And they noted that Ambrose was just one of many copyright holders whose works were included in UCLA's 2,500-work streaming library.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/10/judge-suggests-dmca-allows-dvd-ripping-if-you-own-the-dvd.ars