Sklyarov Case Exposes DMCA Contradictions

aePrime writes: "This article on the New York Times describes how the case against Dmitri Sklyarov is bringing up some contridictions within the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. One is allowed to bypass security measures to backup data, but one is not allowed to write the software to bypass the security. It mentions how this first case to be prosecuted under the law may indeed cause changes to the law." A lot of bad laws have stuck around for longer than the DMCA has yet, but the more this kind of analysis is seen, the sooner sanity can be restored.

Ultimate ThinkGeek item...

[Anonymous Coward]

The DMCA written on toilet paper!!!

Re:No reg link

[die_rollerblader]

I hope that link isn't an illegal circumvention device!

well, good

[p3bf]

Okay, bring it on. I can take it. More DMCA.

Shouldn't we have a Code Red IV, The Voyage Home, where Skylarov travels back in time before the DMCA and can go home? A whale of a good tail.

Re:I love this part

[Decimal Dave]

"Many of the people I know can come up with a program to do it themselves, without being in the business of doing it," Ms. Peters said.

Hmmm... Sounds like she just exposed herself as being part of some sort of hacker ring. Better watch out for the Feds, Ms. Peters; it's their job to put away people like you.

Re:I love this part

[hbo]

Maybe she should be heading the Patent Office instead. Her "friends" could help them get a clue.

./configure

[abe ferlman]

A lot of bad laws have stuck around for longer than the DMCA has yet, but the more this kind of analysis is seen, the sooner sanity can be restored.

tar -xvzf dmca.tar.gz
cd dmca
./configure
creating cache ./config.cache
checking for extra includes... no
checking for extra libs... no
checking for a BSD compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking whether legal environment is sane... no
*Exit with error code 1

I like this one....

[Flower]

Allan Adler, vice president for legal and governmental affairs at the Association of American Publishers, has an explanation. "There is no device that can distinguish between a fair use and a non-fair use,"

I beg to differ. I have the perfect device to distinguish fair use. It's called a brain. I have greater faith in its capability than in any access control scheme Big Media may come up with.

Don't worry

[briggsb]

Congress has already passed legislation [bbspot.com] to remedy the situation.

The Perfect Defense

[AlpineR]

Try this approach, Dmitri:

Fight fire with fire [brunching.com]

AlpineR