From today, it's OK in the US to thwart DRM to repair your stuff – if you keep the tools a secret
Found on The Register on Sunday, 28 October 2018
This week the US Copyright Office ruled it's OK for Americans to break anti-piracy protections in a bunch of home and personal devices, and vehicles, in the course of fixing or tinkering with said equipment.
Up until now manufacturers have tried to lock out unofficial repairs for various reasons: partly to stop people fitting dodgy or backdoored replacements, and mostly to ensure customers fork out for official expensive parts and services.
DRM is also used to ensure people use only official printer ink cartridges or ground coffee beans.
Nobody really cared much about DRM in the first place. If you bought something, you own it, and you are free to do with it whatever you want, or use it however you want. The problem has always been the industry which argued that DRM is a requirement for service, security and whatever.