Would a No-CD patch be viewed in the same light as downloading a rip of the game? To use a No-CD patch you have to have the original CD's to install....though I guess someone could borrow the game from elsewhere, install, patch, and give the CD's back.
The question is, is it actually illegal to use No-CD patches (in general)? They could be seen as circumventing some sort of protection, though it would probably be up to

to determine whether patching in this manner is legal or not.
One thing to add - if the source code is freely available, then it's entirely possible to remove CD checks from the code, compile, and release. Is this sort of action expressly prohibited when modifying the source?
To get to the question at hand, yes I know where you can get a No-CD fix from. But I'm not telling you in an open channel until the admins determine the legality of such a discussion.