In April 2024, anime streaming service Funimation shut down its app and website, as it became part of Crunchyroll.
The closure also cut off access to the Funimation digital copies that came with DVDs and Blu-ray discs. This wasn’t well received by anime fans.
Today, Crunchyroll’s help page still states that it does not currently support these copies. Instead, the page encourages affected users to explore the anime streaming library that Crunchyroll does offer.
The movies and shows are still on the discs and in theory American buyers could make their own digital replacement copies. However, doing so would break the law as the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provision prohibits bypassing the encryption on DVDs and Blu-rays, unless an exemption applies.
Petitions Seek New Disc Ripping Exemption
The U.S. Copyright Officereviews these exemptions every three years, and last week it opened ten proposed classes for public comment. Two of the underlying petitions deal with works for which digital access was discontinued, and one specifically mentions the Funimation case.
One of these petitions comes from Jayden Milne. He asks the Office to allow owners of DVDs, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray discs to make a single secured, local copy for personal use, when the digital copy promised on the packaging is no longer available.
That covers two situations. The first are people who redeemed a digital copy before the service behind it shut down, as happened with Funimation.
The second are buyers of new discs whose code had already expired. According to the petition, Warner Bros. states that its digital codes expire based on a title’s <a href="https://comicvibe.com/marvels-new-avengers-doomsday-trailer-gets-a-major-release-date-update/” title=”Marvel's new Avengers: Doomsday trailer gets a major release date update”>release date rather than the purchase date, and that expired codes are not replaced. This means that a disc bought years after its release may come with a code that no longer works.
Milne wants owners of these physical discs to be able to rip a replacement from them, under strict conditions.
The replacement can’t be better than what was promised. If the box offered an HD digital copy, for example, owners can’t rip the 4K version. Also, the copy is for personal use and it must be destroyed if the disc is sold, given away or lost.
Disappearing Anime Streams
A second and related petition, submitted by Zakaria Zerhouane, focuses on anime more broadly. It covers series and films that were removed from authorized U.S. streaming platforms after their licenses expired, as well as anime released on disc by U.S. distributors that no longer exist.
The petition does not mention Funimation but lists several distributors, including ADV Films, Bandai Entertainment, Central Park Media and Geneon.
In addition to bypassing encryption on discs, Zerhouane also wants to legally circumvent the DRM, geo-locking, and session-based access controls that streaming platforms use. This is needed, the petition argues, as the anime licensing market is unstable.
“Streaming platforms provide no advance removal notice, preventing users from finishing or preserving works before they disappear,” Zerhouane writes.
He adds that the consolidation of the U.S. anime market under “a single dominant entity” has made catalogs more volatile. The petition doesn’t name the company, but the description appears to fit Sony-owned Crunchyroll.
Neither petition covers all video content. Zerhouane’s request is limited to anime, while Milne’s only covers discs that came with a digital copy. Both petitions are restricted to personal and noncommercial uses.
Rightsholders Respond in February
The Copyright Office grouped these requests with four other ‘replacement’ petitions. These ask for personal backups of discs, including before they deteriorate, and permission to format-shift discs as playback hardware disappears. These become more relevant every year, as old formats decay.
The Office notes that the Register of Copyrights has repeatedly declined to recommend such format-shifting exemptions in the past. This means that, while they are on the agenda, approval is uncertain.
Before making any decision, the Office wants more details from stakeholders. It asks which copy protections are involved, whether the titles can be watched legally some other way, and why making these copies wouldn’t infringe copyright. It also wants to know whether allowing this would hurt sales.
Supporters have until December 7 to send in their comments. Opponents can respond until February 22, and public hearings will follow in the spring.
A copy of the Copyright Office’s notice of proposed rulemaking is available here(pdf). Jayden Milne’s petition can be found here(pdf), and Zakaria Zerhouane’s petition is available here(pdf).
