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FBI nabs worker at DVD company for ripping prerelease blockbusters
(arstechnica.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Here's the interpretation by the US copyright office in their FAQ:
The enumerated rights of copyright owners are detailed in Title 17, section 106, with exceptions (e.g. fair use) described through section 122. The relevant portion is:
My understanding is that the copyright office is using 1&3 in their interpretation. So my understanding is that Meta is violating copyright by downloading copies of copyrighted work if their use doesn't fall under the fair use claims.
Right, so the owners have their rights enshrined in laws to make copies, sales, and derivatives, but that doesn't mean people other than owners are breaking a law by downloading a copy that a third party made and distributed. In fact, that text alone doesn't make it illegal to make copies, derivatives, or distributions, that would instead be outlined in U.S Code Title 17 Chapter 5 Section 506 which says:
As with your quote from the FAQ, the entire section says:
Statutory Damages are civil. Risk of liability for downloads means it isn't certain. There are no criminal proceedings for downloading copyrighted media, it isn't illegal.
In fact, it's actually even more lenient than I had expected, you STILL don't qualify for criminal charges even if you cost the real copyright owner $999.99.