[Athen] Breaking Security in a PDF

[Susan Kelmer]

George, perhaps you have time to hound publishers about removing DRM and other protections.

I take in over 500 requests for textbooks a semester, more than half of those in the first two weeks of classes (I crossed the 300 mark today).  Having ongoing arguments with publishers is a waste of my time, and I do what needs to be done to get the job done (and files out to the student).  We turn around most books (even ones we have to scan or the bookshare files we have to correct) in four days.  Our max stated goal is two weeks.  I am not messing around. A student without their reading materials is dead in the water, and I cannot and will not allow that to happen.

It is, actually, quite legal to crack DRM, using whatever tools are available.  And I will continue to do it, for the betterment of my students.

No student should have to wait an extra week while I have a back-and-forth argument with a publisher about whatever DRM they attached or whatever password they put on it or whatever watermark they put on and think we cannot remove.

I crack it, produce the files in the needed format, and move on.  I literally do not have time to educate a publisher, who should really know better, that they are making our lives difficult.  They can choose to do what they are going to do.  I, too, can choose to do what I’m going to do to circumnavigate whatever roadblocks they have thrown up.

Susan Kelmer
Alternate Format Production Program Manager
Disability Services
University of Colorado Boulder
303-735-4836



From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of George Kerscher
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2018 3:21 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Breaking Security in a PDF

Hi,

Yes, you do have the right and obligation to make educational materials accessible.

I would think that the publisher made a mistake by sending you a protected PDF. I suggest you recontact them and ask for an unprotected version.

Also, the DMCA makes it illegal to produce software intended for defeating DRM. The promotion of cracking tools is also a violation, but I am not a lawyer.

We have been working hard with publishers to make their publications born accessible, and we have seen many advances, and we still have a long way to go. Starting to crack protected content is not something we should promote.

I removed the link to the cracking software from the original post below.

Best
George


From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> On Behalf Of Susan Kelmer
Sent: Thursday, September 6, 2018 10:41 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Athen] Breaking Security in a PDF

You have a legal right to crack the PDF to do what you need to do.  My favorite cracker is this one:


Susan Kelmer
Alternate Format Production Program Manager
Disability Services
University of Colorado Boulder
303-735-4836



From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu>> On Behalf Of Robert Spangler
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2018 10:31 AM
To: Access Technology Higher Education Network <athen-list at u.washington.edu<mailto:athen-list at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: [Athen] Breaking Security in a PDF

Hello, if I receive a secured PDF from a publisher, how can I circumvent this to be able to break it into chapters?

Thanks,
Robert


--
Robert Spangler
Disability Services Technical Support Specialist
rspangler1 at udayton.edu<mailto:rspangler1 at udayton.edu>
Office of Learning Resources (OLR) - RL 023
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