Legality of downloading iso

[coolbho3k]

It could be argued that ripping your own ISO in the USA is even more illegal than downloading it, because by ripping an ISO from any modern game system, you're violating the DMCA's anti-circumvention clause (the same clause that made it illegal to unlock your own cell phone until a few weeks ago when an exception was signed into law). By downloading a game, you're only *receiving* an unauthorized copy of the game: legally, it's similar to reading an unauthorized copy of a book, or sitting in a bar playing a song that it doesn't have the rights to play.

The reason people get sued in civil court for downloading music and movies is because they were also distributing the work as well (using peer-to-peer file sharing services). I don't recall anyone getting sued for merely downloading a work.

The DMCA (and copyright law in general) is pretty fucked up that way.