Fascinating debate between UMG Recordings and Suno on the nature of YouTube’s rolling “cipher” protection for videos on YouTube.
UMG wants to add a DMCA anti-circumvention violation claim to its complaint based on alleged “stream ripping” sound recordings from YouTube videos. UMG argues that YouTube’s cipher is a technological measure protected under the DMCA from circumvention.
However, Suno argues not so fast UMG. The cipher is merely a “copy” control measure, not an “access” control measure. And “[c]ritically, section 1201 distinguishes between two types of TPMs: access controls, which prevent users from viewing, reading, or listening to works without proper authorization, and copy controls, which protect the copyright holder’s exclusive rights, like reproduction or distribution, after lawful access has been obtained. While section 1201 prohibits the act of circumventing access controls, see 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1), it does not prohibit the act of circumventing copy controls, see id. § 1201(b).”
UMG responds that it’s not an all-or-nothing issue, Suno. “Suno’s wrongly treats ‘control[ling] access’ under § 1201(a)(1) as an all-or-nothing proposition, arguing that once a copyright owner makes a work accessible to the public to any degree, no ‘access control’ can exist. But § 1201(a)(1)(A) prohibits circumventing a technological protection measure (“TPM”) that ‘controls access’ to a copyrighted work, including measures that that do not block access to a work ab initio.
Justice Saylor in Boston will decide whether to grant UMG leave to amend the complaint.
I haven’t found much discussion online about YouTube’s rolling cipher and I wish I knew more. But this Reddit thread suggests it does make copying a video from YouTube more difficult.
Add a comment if you know anything about YouTube’s rolling cipher.
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