That's simply too cool for words, Rob.

I'm sure you can't get involved in any debates on the topic, but for the rest of the BBS clientele:

What is your view of the legalities of this matter? I'm not asking for personal opinions on whether you think it should be OK, because we all know that we want to be able to rip our own personal CD collections. What I'm asking for is a discussion of what the current laws are in this area.

Are consumer products currently prohibited by law from copying these mangled CDs? Is there anything, in the current law, that says a device like the HSX shouldn't be able to make a copy? Note that the HSX does implement SCMS (as far as I know, correct me if I'm wrong, Rob), so it does comply with the terms of the AHRA as if it were a standalone CD copier.

My view: These particular copy protection schemes were created "outside the law", without the approval or backing of any government agency. They were invented and implemented by private companies and put into the marketplace in an unregulated fashion. The current AHRA doesn't talk about copy-protected CDs because they did not exist when the law was written. The law is very specific on the matter of how copy management should be handled: SCMS. Therefore the law should have no bearing on whether or not consumer devices are allowed to circumvent this protection as long as they implement SCMS on the device. The current laws actually support the consumer being able to copy their own music for personal use, and the people getting in trouble should be those implementing the protection, not the people trying to circumvent it. I don't know if this is an accurate view or not.

Comments?