It's interesting when people are put to the choice. On the one hand they could purchase a book with DRM that they don't actually own. On the other hand, they could look for alternative means by which to obtain the book. And the more the publishers f*** with you, the more you might be inclined to never give them a penny.

[–] baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 days ago

You can swear on the internet, your mom isn’t watching.

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Doing illegal things is the new black, haven’t you heard?

Also, how exactly would they catch anyone doing this?

[–] orcrist@lemm.ee 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

How can they catch people who have produced unlocked epubs? There are plenty of ways if they have your device at some future date.

I suppose the easiest predictable thing other than having your device seized when you're entering the country for example or when you get arrested for example is that back doors could be installed on Android or iPhone that look for unapproved media.

The technology is already good enough for that. It's only a question of implementation.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 3 points 6 days ago

I'm too fucken old to read a book on a goddamn phone screen and my eco reader is too old to enshittify. Mwahahahahha i am untouchable

[–] StarlightDust@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 6 days ago

Sadly its not doable with Kindle and Linux anymore. I buy my ebooks since I only read indie but I will only do it from Itch or other DRM free sites.

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 4 points 6 days ago

Oh noes

Anyways

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 3 points 6 days ago

Oh no...

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 132 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Removing DRM has always been "illegal".

However: German concentration camps were legal, while families protecting Jewish citizens from being taken to said concentration camps was strictly illegal.

What's legal is not always right (ethically and morally), and what's right is not always legal. Remember that.

[–] laserjet@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 days ago

extremely self aggrandizing analogy to say the least

[–] Yingwu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 51 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (20 children)

I'd like to clarify that removing DRM does lie in a grey zone in many countries, including in the US due to some court rulings. In some countries the right to make a backup of your e-book might have priority over copyright law for example.

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Sure, but companies who employ DRM have argued against that grey area since DRM was a thing. Something something IP/copyright/licensing/whatever bullshit... IMO: fuck you, I bought it, I own it, eat shit.

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[–] cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 18 points 1 week ago

Sometimes doing something illegal is anti-social behavior. Sometimes it's anti-authoritarian behavior. These are not the same thing.

[–] Spider89@lemm.ee 60 points 1 week ago (3 children)

[–] DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml 9 points 6 days ago

Or just unlock protected media outside from States.

[–] smiletolerantly@awful.systems 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I have been listening to SO many audiobooks since getting Audiobookshelve ❤️

[–] dutchcompass@lemm.ee 2 points 5 days ago

Libro.fm is cool too because you can download and just…own the files

[–] Grimpen@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 days ago

Always comes to mind. Why buy it if you need to crack the DRM someday and become a criminal? Just pirate it in the first place.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 47 points 1 week ago

"Illegal"

Fuck them... Just do it.

[–] Railcar8095@lemm.ee 43 points 1 week ago (7 children)

From a legal standpoint, is it more illegal to remove DRM or to just download DRM-freed content?

Meta lawyers think the second is fine, BTW.

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[–] miracleorange@beehaw.org 28 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Just in case anyone didn't feel like reading the article, here's the last (and imo most important) paragraph:

However, without changing the DMCA, we can't expect to see real, lasting change in this space. Doctorow said as much to me: "What we really need to do is get rid of DMCA 1201, that law that makes it a crime to format shift your media...it's the same law that stops farmers from fixing their tractors, blocks independent mechanics from fixing your car, stops rivals from setting up alternative app stores for phones and games consoles...this law is a menace!"

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[–] metaStatic@kbin.earth 27 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Never forget it's legal to make backups.

[–] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Unless you "bypass technological measures". Which is a loophole if I've ever seen one.

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[–] TimmyMac@lemmy.ml 25 points 1 week ago

If that's true, I'm pretty much Al Capone at this point.

[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 points 1 week ago (3 children)

jaywalking is probably illegal too

[–] neshura@bookwormstory.social 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I will never stop being confused by this law. Just crossing the street cannot possibly be illegal anywhere. I'm fully convinced the entire thing is an elaborate joke by the americans.

[–] baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 days ago

Like everything else here in the US, it’s borne out of racism. In the Jim Crow era, most black people couldn’t afford a car. White people driving around didn’t like those pesky walking people getting in their way, so they made it difficult to cross the street. It then gave cops a way to threaten/arrest/persecute them.

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[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Fwiw, I've never put drm on anything I've published digitally, and never will.

Not that it matters, nobody buys my shit in the first place lol. But, as a matter of principle, even my crappy stories as a form of culture aren't only for the people with money.

Mind you, that do? I have no beef with. You make your own choices, and I ain't mad about it. But it just isn't something I can do.

[–] neshura@bookwormstory.social 4 points 6 days ago

I go out of my way to exclusively spend money with the one publisher I've found who does not put DRM in their ebooks. I spend lavishly with them because good practices need to be rewarded monetarily in capitalism or they die out.

The rest I pirate.

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