Bypassing it would most likely be a violation of the DMCA unfortunately.
The follow-up to the DMCA, which is currently going through congress, would make it a federal felony with a 10 year prison sentence for the simple possession of tools to circumvent copy protection. It would also provide for civil forfeiture of any computer equipment found with circumvention tools. (i.e. DVD copying software.)
Exactly, we don't know for sure and we never will. Nobody says that refusing to file your income tax is "most likely" against the law, we know it is. Everyone complains that they don't understand the IRS but it's as clear as a bell compared to the DMCA. Nobody knows for sure what the DMCA is supposed to do. Everyone knows what it does do. It makes lawyers rich while allowing anyone to copy virtually anything.