Editing 488: Steal This Comic

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[[Black Hat]] uses a [[:Category:Flowcharts|flow chart]] to propose two paths:
 
[[Black Hat]] uses a [[:Category:Flowcharts|flow chart]] to propose two paths:
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*If you pirate the audio, the DRM would necessarily be disabled or removed in order to be available in that fashion. This is in violation of copyright law and is also considered theft in some countries such as the United States, since it avoids payment to the publishers, performers, composers, etc. who created the audio.
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*If you pirate the audio, the DRM would necessarily be disabled or removed in order to be available in that fashion. This is in violation of copyright law and is also considered theft, since it avoids payment to the publishers, performers, composers, etc. who created the audio.
  
 
*If you buy the DRM-locked audio, you have legally obtained it for use on your device. However, as Black Hat puts it, "things change": the device you have the audio stored on could be lost, stolen, or broken. The device will inevitably get old enough that the company that made it will stop supporting updates for it, and newer software may no longer be compatible with it. In the worst case scenario, [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/24/apple-samsung-fined-for-slowing-down-phones the device may be sabotaged by the company]. If the DRM prevents the audio from being recovered or transferred from the device or allows [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jul/17/amazon-kindle-1984 the service providing you with the audio to delete it], you would have to pay for it a second time to re-obtain it legally, which no one wants to do. The only other solution is breaking the DRM to try to recover your collection by force, and Black Hat argues that this is inevitable.
 
*If you buy the DRM-locked audio, you have legally obtained it for use on your device. However, as Black Hat puts it, "things change": the device you have the audio stored on could be lost, stolen, or broken. The device will inevitably get old enough that the company that made it will stop supporting updates for it, and newer software may no longer be compatible with it. In the worst case scenario, [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/24/apple-samsung-fined-for-slowing-down-phones the device may be sabotaged by the company]. If the DRM prevents the audio from being recovered or transferred from the device or allows [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jul/17/amazon-kindle-1984 the service providing you with the audio to delete it], you would have to pay for it a second time to re-obtain it legally, which no one wants to do. The only other solution is breaking the DRM to try to recover your collection by force, and Black Hat argues that this is inevitable.
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A note on the site says that [http://www.amazon.com Amazon] sells DRM-free music files. Since this comic was written, iTunes has also stopped using DRM on music, though it still protects apps, e-books, and videos.
 
A note on the site says that [http://www.amazon.com Amazon] sells DRM-free music files. Since this comic was written, iTunes has also stopped using DRM on music, though it still protects apps, e-books, and videos.
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This comic is not applicable to some countries, such as Canada, where copyright infringement is purely a civil matter and is not a criminal offense.
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==

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