Copyright law still murky in digital era

Chicago Tribune: Copyright Law Still Murky in Tech Era. Where do the rights of digital-age property holders -- be they movie studios or phone companies -- end, and the rights of consumers begin? Copying a movie onto an iPod is a no-no. But it's OK for a professor to copy snippets of a film to illustrate a point in the classroom.

It seems a no-brainer that copying a DVD movie and reselling it should be illegal. But how about copying it to your iPod? Or, if you're a professor, copying snippets of "Citizen Kane" to illustrate a point in your class?

Well, the answer is "No, you can't" on the iPod. But academics can freely capture Kane's "Rosebud" moment and other highlights, courtesy of a decision by the U.S. Copyright Office that went into effect this week. ...

Another significant new exemption to the DMCA involves CDs. Computer security experts now clearly have the right to investigate and correct security flaws embedded in CDs.