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Is DVD ‘Ripping’ the Same as ‘Archiving?’
ReQuest: We don’t “rip.” We “archive.”
Instead, they use terms such as archiving, transferring, storing, backing up, imaging …. Do they all mean the same thing?
I tend to use the terms interchangeably.
In my earlier story about DVD ripping and storage, I quoted ReQuest CEO Peter Cholnoky as saying about the new Intelligent Media Client (ICM): "We do not rip DVDs. The system will create a personal backup or archive of the DVD on the server."
Then I wrote, "Evidently, 'ripping' a DVD is not the same thing as 'archiving" it."
In fact, it is not, according to a follow-up from Cholnoky:
Ripping is NOT the same as what we do. This is not a trivial point! When you rip a DVD you remove CSS [Content Scrambling System], remove copy protection, and reformat the content. Why do you think that programs like ANYDVD are not sold in the US and have been called illegal? Because they RIP DVDs. They remove CSS. It actually is a big difference.
ReQuest makes a bit-for-bit archive with no decoding, no compression, and no removal of CSS. We do not alter the image.
Is it just semantics?
Well, yes, when you consider that the DVD CCA doesn't care what you call it. They're going to litigate licensees (viz. Kaleidescape) regardless if CSS remains intact on copied DVDs, i.e., if they're "ripped" or "archived."
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) fights for your digital rights. Visit EFF and become a supporter for its important causes. http://www.eff.org
As for the bigger legal questions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the jury is still out.
The DMCA criminalizes the production of technology that allows the circumvention of DRM protections such as DVD decryption software.
By "archiving" DVDs with their decryption "wrappers" intact – by copying "bit for bit" -- ReQuest, Kaleidescape, Fusion and others seem to abide by the letter and the spirit of the DMCA.
Back to the definitions: Is the term "ripping" generally understood as the "illegal" form of copying a disk? Likewise, is "archiving" known as the bit-for-bit "legal" way of doing it? If so, I will certainly make the distinctions in the future.
Would lexicographers please chime in?
DVD Ripping: The Whole Picture
 | DVD Ripping: The Latest on the Legal Front This compilation of articles on the legality of DVD ripping, and related fair-use cases, will be updated continuously. Understanding the Kaleidescape, RealDVD Cases What have the courts really decided on DVD copying, and what are the implications for the future? We debunk the myths about the the two lawsuits and clarify the current legal state of DVD ripping Latest on DVD Ripping: RealNetworks, Control4, Crestron, Kaleidescape RealNetworks may be the first big-name brand to offer DVD ripping software, as Kaleidescape case is appealed; Escient, Crestron, Control4, Request take different approaches. Is DVD 'Ripping' the Same as 'Archiving?' Is the term "ripping" generally understood as the "illegal" form of copying a disk? Likewise, is "archiving" known as the bit-for-bit "legal" way of doing it? Can You Be Sued for Helping Clients Rip DVDs? EFF attorney Fred von Lohmann explains some of the legal issues involved in selling and installing products that enable users to copy DVDs. Is Your DVD Server Legal? Manufacturers Say Yes! Developers of movie-ripping products insist their products are legal. Here's how the manufacturers justify their solutions. Copy Protection Group Sues Kaleidescape (2005) Kaleidescape has a license from the DVD CCA to employ CSS decoding in its media servers, which it does. Now, DVD CCA is suing Kaleidescape for breach of contract. Would Studios Rather We Buy DVD Ripping Products Offshore? As studios work to quash legitimate products like RealDVD, offshore providers of DVD ripping software -- like AnyDVD developer SlySoft -- are reaping the rewards. Industry Insider: DVD CCA Is an Innovation-Stifling Cartel (2005) The DVD Copyright Control Association (DVD CCA) is a bunch of bullies. The organization manages to coerce all manufacturers of DVD players to sign away their rights to innovation. | |
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6 Comments
Amen, Joel!
At the very least, DVD CCA needs to put a process in place so that they don’t penalize manufacturers who try to take the high road. As it stands now, you are better to NOT license CSS, lest you be sued for breach of contract.
Does anyone know what kind of liability me the dealer assumes by selling and installing these kinds of products to end users? Seams scary? I know ANYDVD is illegal in the US, but some industry manufactures rely on it for their product to work, and make the dealer install it?
Scott, thanks for asking. I asked our attorney friends at EFF these very questions.
Their answers will be posted tomorrow.
That’s some old ######## right there.
I have already replaced my records with tapes, my tapes with CDs and my VHSs with DVDs. I can only be expected to pay for the same content so many times.
If i buy a DVD it should be mine. If I choose to encode the sucker to lower Quality to fit on my Phone,MP3,watch or what ever I should be allowed to, anyone that says different is a money grubbing scum bag.
That’s only if you choose to leave the content unprotected. There is a choice to leave it with the copyright unlocked, a better, apropriate action is to re-lock it, post rip. Then you have exercised fair use while upholding copyright and more importantly, copy-responsibility 
It is not semantics, and in the balance are our rights, what we are entitled too, what is legal and what is theft. Unfortunately by interchangeably using these terms it becomes possible for others to lump these very distinct functions and forms together, calling for a summary judgment on all approaches.
Keeping the “lock” on the data and only licensing the key is simply a dirty technicality of it’s own, preventing the legitimate holder from fully enjoying the rights of ownership and even extending to and limiting fair use.
I applaud all media server companies who try to develop processes which keep the spirit of anti piracy while still growing legitimate markets.