I started to think about this like physical locks and that made it seem less weird. You don't need a great lock to communicate "this is a private space" and there's no "but your honor is was a crappy lock" defense to trespassing. Circumventing bad copy protection still establishes intent to circumvent so you're still in trouble.

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gizmo686 a day ago | parent [-]

Notably, neither lockpicks nor lockpicks are illegal.

By making circumvention itself illegal the DMCA gives the producer to essentially invent new IP law.

Want to take a DVD you bought while vacationing in China and play it back home in the US. That is perfectly legal. However, if the DVD has even the flimsiest form of region locking, you would need to circumvent them, which is a crime.

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bragr a day ago | parent | next [-]

>Notably, neither lockpicks nor lockpicks are illegal.

As someone with lockpicks and practice locks, sure. But as soon as I pick someone else's lock without permission, it very much is a crime.

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wolrah a day ago | parent | next [-]

> But as soon as I pick someone else's lock without permission, it very much is a crime.

Right, but no one's installing a modchip on someone else's Switch without permission. No one's stealing Blu-rays to rip. I'd actually challenge you to find any DMCA anticircumvention claim where the people accused of violating it were doing things to hardware or media they didn't own or have permission from the owner to access.

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alterom a day ago | parent | prev [-]

>But as soon as I pick someone else's lock without permission, it very much is a crime.

The analogy is broken and doesn't apply.

The better analogy would be someone installing a lock on your property which you have the right to enter and use, and you going to jail for breaking the lock.

In real world, of course you can break someone's lock without permission when they put it on your property without getting your permission to do it.

And you buying property means the locks are no longer someone else's. They are yours to pick, cut off, melt, or throw into volcanoes.

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amanaplanacanal a day ago | parent [-]

Nowadays, it wouldn't be your property, you just licensed it from the manufacturer.

	▲	alterom 17 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Even so. If your landlord decides to put an extra lock on the unit you're renting, breaking that lock is not a crime. It's a rental contract violation, maybe, depending on jurisdiction. Your landlord may try to charge you for the cost of the lock if you destroy it. Picking the lock to get access to the property you are legally entitled to have access to is not a crime.

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cluckindan a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Lockpicks are illegal to possess in some jurisdictions (locksmiths obviously exempt)

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bitwize a day ago | parent | prev [-]

In Illinois, owning lockpicking equipment without a locksmith license is prima facie evidence of intent to break into someone's home. You can be charged with attempted burglary just for having the lockpicks.