Apple's iPod Copy Protection HACKED

roryt 0 332 Views

22 Year old, Jon Lech Johansen who previously hacked DVD encryption in his teens has now hacked through the iPod copy protection. This copy protection stops iPod users from playing downloaded music from online music stores other than iTunes. This "copy protection" also stops music that has been bought off iTunes from being played on other devices (apart from the iPod).

His company now plan to license the code to businesses who can use it to make Apples downloadable music play on their devices and to allow themselves to sell downloadable music that will play on the ipod.

So the kid who became famous as DVD Jon in his teens is now famous again for cracking open Apple's copy protection.

Dani AI

Generated

Short context and what actually changed: the story here is accurate — Jon Lech Johansen (DVD Jon) and his then‑new venture announced in 2006 that they had reverse‑engineered Apple’s FairPlay and planned to offer a FairPlay‑compatible implementation for license (doubleTwist), with the stated goal of allowing other stores and devices to interoperate with iPods. This was framed as re‑implementing the protection so third parties could wrap files in a format the iPod accepts, not as a public “DRM‑stripper” release. (wired.com)

Why the distinction matters: earlier projects (QTFairUse, FairKeys, Hymn/JHymn, PlayFair, etc.) focused on producing playable or unprotected copies of purchased audio. Johansen’s 2006 work was described as an emulation/reimplementation of FairPlay so labels or services could issue files the iPod would accept — technically different and with different legal implications. ’s point about converters is correct, but Johansen’s move aimed at producing interoperable protected files rather than simply dumping audio. (faq-mac.com)

Legal and market context: RealNetworks’ Harmony (2004) tried a similar interoperability approach and provoked firmware changes and legal threats from Apple, showing how device makers can respond. U.S. law (DMCA §1201(f)) contains a narrow reverse‑engineering/interoperability carve‑out, but it has strict limits; doing this at scale invited both technical countermeasures and legal scrutiny. ’s “long battle” observation reflects that reality. (arstechnica.com)

What happened next and practical takeaway: Apple began offering DRM‑free “iTunes Plus” tracks in 2007 and announced the move to a DRM‑free catalog in January 2009 (completed by April 2009), which ultimately reduced the consumer need for these workarounds. For readers now: prefer DRM‑free sources or official interoperability agreements; be cautious with third‑party tooling (legal exposure, security risks), and for businesses weigh the cost of litigation and maintenance against the value of any FairPlay compatibility effort. ’s note about Apple’s market strength explains why others pursued this route. (macworld.com)

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005
goldeagle2005 33 Finkus Stinkalotus

Are you really surprised? It was just a matter of time before someone thwarted the scheme. As they say, no man can create something another cannot. this promises to be a long waged battle between the music companies who want to "protect" digital content and the people who believe in openness...

Member Avatar for Zonr_0
Zonr_0 0 Newbie Poster

A similar thing has been done before, met with various legal successes by Apple. There have been a handful of programs which convert it from the fairplay format into a raw or .wav format.

The main diference is that what Jon here has done is reverse engineered it so other players can play the apple propeitory format without 'breaking' or converting the original file itself.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairPlay)

Member Avatar for John Ripple
John Ripple 0 Newbie Poster

Apple is not a feeble brand, it is very popular and specially for your programming and the zeal to ‘think different'.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.

Edit Preview