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Stripit Software

Stripit Software (Property · Problems) — "A developer sells software called StripIt that removes the restrictions on movies purchased from the iTunes Store. De…

Ideas in this flowchart

  • StripIt raises a potential contributory infringement issue.
  • A developer sells StripIt, software that removes restrictions from movies purchased from the iTunes Store.
  • The relevant theory is contributory infringement, also called Sony-style infringement.
  • Contributory infringement may impose liability for placing a product on the market when it lacks substantial noninfringing uses.
  • A product must be capable of substantial uses that do not infringe copyright.
  • If a product is useful only for infringement, its seller may be liable for users’ illegal copying.
  • StripIt appears useful only for removing protections against unauthorized copying of iTunes movies.
  • Its potential liability depends on whether StripIt has other noninfringing uses.
  • The analysis also requires examining how often users make fair use copies of movies they purchased.
  • Sony itself was not held liable; Sony-style liability refers only to the legal ground discussed in Sony.
  • The separate DMCA addresses intentional circumvention of anti-copying measures.
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Stripit Software

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Property

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"A developer sells software called StripIt that removes the restrictions on movies purchased from the iTunes Store. Developer is sued. Contributory infringement, or what I’ve been calling Sony-style infringement, might be found here, depending on what other uses the software has. Cautionary note: there was no liability in Sony. So when I say Sony-style liability, I mean liability on the ground discussed in Sony. Sony itself was not found liable under what we’re calling a Sony theory. Contributory infringement is liability for merely placing a product on the market that is not capable substantial noninfringing uses. In other words, if your product is really only good for infringement, you can be liable for the illegal copying of those who use it. Here, StripIt appears to be useful only to remove the protections that prevent unauthorized copying of digital movies purchased from iTunes. We’d want to know, though, whether it’s capable of other uses. Further, we’d want to know how often the product is used to enable users to make fair use copies of movies they have bought. (There is another statute, the controversial DMCA, that governs the intentional circumvention of anti-copying measures.)"

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