So the CD I was waiting for showed up. The CD I was gonna rip to put on my iPod. well I'm starting to think I should have waited and perhaps downloaded it DRM free from iTunes (the CD is from an EMI artist) because my CD is defective, by design... The CD I received is copy protected. There is even a little warning saying it may not play in all CD players because of this. Audio CDs traditionally conform to a standard known as redbook. This CD does not. So it may not play everyplace, hence defective.

Now what I want to do with this CD is illegal because of the wonderful DMCA... Which I've bitched about for a number of years now. But I'm pretty sure this is one of the first times it's actually been in my way and face. The DMCA doesn't really provision for Fair Use. There is a bill introduced by Rick Boucher and John Doolittle this year which would help to weaken the DMCA and hopefully be a start to reform on copyright law and the DMCA. You can support and read more about the Fair Use Act of 2007 at the Eff Action Center.

It's become more and more common over the years but more and more companies and associations treat their consumers like criminals rather than customers. Unfortunately this also turns them into criminals by the standards of the damned DMCA as it forces consumers/users/someone to bypass copy protection schemes to use the media they purchased the ways they want to use the media they paid for.