DVD Ripping: International Bypass

PCworld has an article on the flourishing of DVD Ripping tools, which gives an oversight of the various ripping tools, the legal collission with the DMCA, the cries of the MPAA and the end of Hollywood. An excerpt on how DVD ripping manufacturers make it easy to bypass (U.S.) copy restrictions under the veil of helping out international users:

Take the program ICopyDVDs2 Standard from Me Too Software, sold at major computer retailers like Best Buy, CompUSA, and Target. When you attempt to copy a copy-protected DVD, ICopyDVDs2 warns that doing so is illegal and offers a detailed explanation of how non-U.S. customers can use the search engine Google to find and download a program that enables them to use ICopyDVDs2 to copy any CSS-protected DVD.

The firm Bling Software also sells a DVD-copying program, called 123 Copy DVD, that also ships minus actual CSS decryption software. However, visitors to 123 Copy DVD's Web site can find a link there to a second Web site located in Spain. This second link permits you to download a "third-party software plug-in" that allows you to use 123 Copy DVD to copy CSS-protected DVDs. Bling Software operates both Web sites.