Amid escalating frustration over vanishing streaming rights and the erasure of server-locked digital libraries, American anime collectors and consumer rights organizations have formally submitted a legal petition to the U.S. Copyright Office. The filing, submitted under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Section 1201 triennial exemption review, seeks to legalize the personal digitization and backing up of legally owned DVDs and Blu-rays.
The legal campaign follows the widespread fallout from the shutdown of the Funimation streaming service and its consolidation into Crunchyroll. During its operation, Funimation issued digital “lifetime” access codes bundled with physical DVD and Blu-ray purchases.
Following the platform’s closure, thousands of users lost access to their digital libraries overnight. Because these digital copies were hosted on proprietary, server-locked platforms rather than downloadable files, consumers were left without access despite possessing the original physical discs.
Under existing statutory provisions of Section 1201 of the DMCA, bypassing technological protection measures such as Content Scramble System (CSS) encryption on DVDs or Advanced Access Content System (AACS) on Blu-ray discs remains illegal in the United States. Even when a consumer owns the physical medium, using software to circumvent encryption for personal format-shifting or offline storage constitutes a federal violation under current law.
The petition submitted to the Copyright Office outlines several crucial protections designed to safeguard media preservation and consumer ownership rights:
Personal Ripping Rights: Establish an explicit exemption permitting physical disc owners to bypass CSS and AACS encryption exclusively for non-commercial, personal local backup and media server playback.
Preservation of Licensed Dubs and Subs: Guarantee that anime enthusiasts retain permanent access to specific regional dubs, subtitles, and audio tracks that frequently vanish from digital streaming platforms when corporate licensing agreements expire.
Format-Shifting Protections: Confirm that purchasing a physical copy grants consumers the inherent right to convert software into modern digital formats, preventing media companies from forcing users to repurchase identical titles across new digital storefronts.
The U.S. Copyright Office conducts its Section 1201 exemption rulemaking process every three years to determine temporary exceptions to anti-circumvention prohibitions. The ongoing review cycle will evaluate public comments and legal arguments from consumer advocates, copyright holders, and media coalitions.
If granted, the exemption would mark a monumental victory for physical media collectors, establishing a major legal precedent for personal digital property rights and long-term media preservation.