DMCA Protest at Stanford, May 18

CokeBear writes "Join the protest against the DMCA at Stanford University, May 18, noon - 2:00pm. Details at http://zgp.org/~dmarti/dmca/."

Let's Not Repeat Kent State...

[BMIComp]

Hopefully they won't bring in the National Guard to handle the protestors, they didn't handle that too well last time...

not sure what it's going to do

[nomadic]

I don't have anything against demonstrations in general, but I don't think they're a particularly effective method of change, and with something as complex as the DMCA, I don't think you're going to be able to come up with a short, chantable slogan to describe your position on it.

Good job!

[ivan37]

These demonstrations are great for both the anti-DMCA and the nerd population in general. Through the demonstrations, the average John Doe can learn what the DMCA is and why it is wrong. Then, next time something that threatens us nerds again pops up, these same groups can call up everyone that was there and march again! The nerd Minute-Men? :)

I know I speak for most readers of Slashdot when I say "Thanks" to all those that attend - both this one, ones that have taken place, and those to come.

Re:What does DMCA Stand for?

[Proteus]

Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

It is a modification to the original Copyright Act that was orignally intended to update copyright law so that it makes more sense for the era of digital information. In reality, it has become a boon for the software industry by allowing software developers to enforce unreasonable license restrictions.

To cite one example, Microsoft could license Word with language that would prohibit you from using Word to disparage or criticize Microsoft. If you did so, they could yank your license and repossess your software.

A few other restrictions: under the DMCA, reverse-engineering is prohibited (it isn't currently), software can be licensed on a "Rental" basis with added restrictions to exporting data to another format (this makes it impossible to change software for a particular purpose), circumventing any kind of copy protection -- even if only to make a legally allowed backup -- is illegal.

This bill is just a whole lot of wrong. To see other Slashdot articles on this topic you can search the archives for DMCA [slashdot.org].

For a scholarly discussion, participate in this forum [slashdot.org].

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