What exactly is Label Gate copy protection?

[BlazingAbyss]

I've noticed that some album reprints on the site make mention of Label Gate copy protection being removed from that release.
I was curious to know what exactly Label Gate copy protection was and if it was something you should avoid if a version of that album without it exists.
From what I can gather online it seems to be interned as a piracy prevention measure, does that mean that CD ripping programs such as Exact Audio Copy would have difficulty ripping CDs featuring Label Gate copy protection?