"Fair Use" has been viewed by courts as a safety valve that accommodates the exclusive rights conferred by copyright with the freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment. -- Judge Kaplan in Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes, 111 F.Supp. 294, 322 (SDNY 2000) (after finding the DVD encryption breaking program DeCSS on dvd-copy.com).
In case you don't know much about the infamous first test of the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) of 1998 in U.S. law.
The extreme wording of the Act of Congress was particulary troubling to the open source movement & the freedom speechers of technology. Programming code was becoming something that could be owned and patented by a corporation. But not only that, it gave the producers of the content the powers to go out and questionably-enforce silence and lawsuits to companies that were making enfriging technologies.
Today, this particular lawsuit, Universal Studios v. Reimerdes, is required study for intelluctual properties law students.
Special thanks to EFF, the leading civil liberties group defending your rights in the digital world.
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/20000817_ny_opinion.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/20000830_ny_amended_opinion.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011128_bunner_decl.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011101_bunner_appellate_decision.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020522-supreme_court_answer.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20031121_bunner_suppl_brief.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20040227_Decision.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011128_bunner_facts_statement.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020718_bunner-cpsr-amicus-brief.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011128_kesden_decl.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/bunner-ca-ag-amicus.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020322_dvdcca_merits_brief.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011128_felten_decl.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/Johansen_DeCSS_case/20030109_johansen_norwegian_decision.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011128_wagner_decl.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011224_bunner_casupct_reply.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/Johansen_DeCSS_case/20000104_dvdcca_no_prosecutor_letter.no.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020114_pavlovich_casupct_brief.pdf
https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/peru_tpms.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011128_touretzky_decl.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20030102_DVDCCA_app_stay.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011224_bunner_casupct_reply.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20000921_pavlovich_app_reply.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011128_bunner_sum_judg_motion.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20000911_pavlovich_sc_petition.pdf
https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/Blizzard_v_bnetd/show_case_doc.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/20010126_ny_lib_amicus.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20010914_pavlovich_sc_petition.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20000911_pavlovich_app_petition.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20031222_bunner_reply_brief.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20021125_pavlovich_opinion.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020214_dvdcca_merits_brief.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20010307_pavlovich_app_reply.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Macrovision_v_321Studios/20030320_Macrovision_APS.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020718_bunner_amicus_brief.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020712_ipo_amicus_brief.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20020718_bunner_ms_amicus_brief.pdf
https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/Apple_v_Does/20050407_apple_brief.pdf
https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/OPG_v_Diebold/plaintiff_reply_prelim_injunct.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/DMCA/MGM_v_321Studios/20040219_Order.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/DMCA/copyrightoffice/2006_DMCA_RM_EFF_reply_comments.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20040218_mtn_vacate.pdf
https://w2.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20011128_parviainen_decl.pdf
https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/elcomsoft/20020128_elcom_memo_dismiss_motion.pdf
http://w2.eff.org/IP/Foreign_and_local/Canada/20010915_efc_eff_cpdci_comments.pdf
https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/Blizzard_v_bnetd/amicus_ESA.pdf