Boucher's Anti-DMCA Bill Gets High Profile Allies 244
Landaras writes "News.com is reporting that a newly-formed alliance called the Personal Technology Freedom Coalition is throwing their support and lobbying efforts behind Rep. Rick Boucher's (D-Va) Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act.
Members of the Personal Technology Freedom Coalition include Intel, Sun Microsystems, Verizon, SBC, Qwest, Gateway and BellSouth. The EFF and the American Library Association are also in support."
I'm still skeptical though (Score:4, Insightful)
chances are VERY high (Score:5, Interesting)
This is not new, it happened in the industrial revolution too. Unlike farming, the industrial revolution required a mobile and educated workforce. It was a disaster for the plantation system who envisioned that the entire meaning and purpose of the industrial revolution was to leverage inventions like the cotton gin to expand their plantations for unlimited growth and profit. At first they reactred by making tougher slave laws, till it got to the point you couldn't even teach a slave how to read, then they responded by trying to "force" the industrial northern states to enforce their slavery restrictions through a series of heavy handed regulations, when that went to hell the southern states tried to break off from the union and fence themselves off from the north.
Today the information age requires the free flow of information, and it is a disaster to those who rely on the copyright system whose vision of the information age was to use inventions like the internet to impose copyrights to the far corners of the earth. At first they responded by making copyrights last (effectively) forever, and imposing punishments for copyright infringement that rival those imposded for violent criminals. Then they pushed through the DMCA, to "force" all the other industries to impose copyrights via heavy handed microregulation. Now that's having problems they are trying to fence themselves off from the rest of the world by using DRM.
So watch out. SCO was a peace walk. All hell is about to break loose.
BPAC (Score:3, Interesting)
BPAC [adiungo.com]
As for reference, I think most everything I said there was pretty much common knowledge from what I can tell. I think it's well known that they did pass harsher and harsher laws on slaves all the way up till the
Re:I'm still skeptical though (Score:5, Funny)
Hatch And Bono (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:4, Funny)
Oh, you must mean this [about.com] Senator Bono.
You really need to get with it.
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:2)
Senator Cher?? Couldn't be worse than a lot of the bozos in there.
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:3, Funny)
Senator Cher
Singing
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:3, Informative)
______________________________________
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:3, Interesting)
I think it should be the other way around - *don't* vote, and find yourself dropped off in a country where you'll never have to worry about that pesky voting ever again. I think not voting should not only be a criminal offence, but it's only punishment should be deportation to the non-democracy of your choice.
I understand that many people feel that if they're disgusted with all the candidates that they can best express their opinion by not voting, but it's obvious to me that this
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:2)
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:5, Interesting)
The GOP and other right-wing/corporate leaning organizations know this and use him to pitch ideas that other Senators can not safely propose without possibly drawing the ire of their constituencies and risk getting replaced in 2/6 years. By contrast, Democrats do not have this luxury in the Senate, as there is no state in the nation that is as heavily biased towards Dems as Utah is towards Republicans, therefore you rarely ever see bills in the Senate with as extreme a left-leaning slant as Hatch's right-leaning bills.
So even if Sen. Hatch's ideas seem completely crazy to everyone, including his own party members, they do serve a purpose, which is to make the moderate conservative bills seem less crazy and outlandish, and therefore to get more credence. Coupled with the lack of an extreme liberal counterbalance to make moderate liberal bills seem more plausible, what we're left with is a permanent tilt towards the right in the Senate.
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:3, Interesting)
Get real. The worst offender was Hollings, a DEMOCRAT. This is not a partisan issue, there are powerful interests that support the left, and there are powerful interests that support the right.
Frankly, most of the entertainment industry (make that the majority of the media industry) supports the left, but I'll say it again, cow-towing to large, influential organizations is a NON-partisan pastime of many politicians,
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:4, Insightful)
However, for the most part large corporations throw their money at Republicans, not Democrats, because Republicans are usually more eager to hand out tax cuts and other corporate welfare than are Democrats. And there is a corresponding amount of Republican sucking-up to large corporations in response to this phenomenon.
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:3, Insightful)
Like you say, special interest groups frequently grease the palms of politicians on both sides of the floor, and Hatch represents an easy way for groups [opensecrets.org] to get their viewpoints heard by Congress.
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:5, Funny)
Yea, I had to follow behind a couple of ranchers who were cow-towing some steers to market this weekend. I could never get a chance to pass. Was stuck behind their smelly trailer for miles.
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:3, Interesting)
"Liberal" does not mean the leftmost half of
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Hatch And Bono (Score:2)
Money Talks, Folks (Score:5, Insightful)
By supporting him (and explaining why), we reinforce his commitment to protecting our copyright rights, and show his peers that there is a group of people (voters) who care enough about the issue to contribute.
Re:Money Talks, Folks (Score:5, Interesting)
At least according to press releases from his office he is facing a heavily (Republican Party) funded carpet-bagger in the next election. I dont' remember the fellows name, but I think he's from Florida. I'd like to say he's safe, 'cause even my far-right in-laws vote for him, but you never know. There are a lot of stupid people areound here who believe anything a TV commercial tell them, and some of them vote.
Re:Money Talks, Folks (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Money Talks, Folks (Score:4, Informative)
Most famous recent example: Hillary Clinton - a Chicago native, who moved to Arkansas, to Washington, and then out of the blue moved to NYC to run (successfully) for US Senate.
Re:Money Talks, Folks (Score:2)
Re:Money Talks, Folks (Score:2)
Re:Money Talks, Folks (Score:2)
But that's not necessarily pork... I mean, it depends on what it was for. Now we have, for example, Cynthia McKinney, a representative who gotted booted out in the primaries last election cycle in GA, because many republicans voted in the democratic primaries (you don't have to register your party in GA, but if you vote in a primary, you cannot vote in another party's primary).
Aside from being a racist frea
Re:Money Talks, Folks (Score:2)
You and the people in your community probably pay about the same percentage of taxes as everyone else. Are you really saying that you would rather have that money go to communities in other states or regions, than have it spent in your area?
Of course the real solution would be to both remove the taxes and stop paying for the pork, but
Wouldent this money do better with the EFF (Score:5, Interesting)
EFF's Donation site [eff.org]
Re:Wouldent this money do better with the EFF (Score:3, Insightful)
Article Submitter Here... (Score:2)
- Neil Wehneman
This certainly smells of election-year politicing (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:This certainly smells of election-year politici (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This certainly smells of election-year politici (Score:5, Insightful)
and that was just the top four in a search of old stories by score...
And you are correct, at least, in that this is a bold move, and definitely in the right direction. It is indeed a folly to think that media lobbies will just ignore this, which is why we ALL need to come together and slashdot congress both via email and snail mail to get things like this pushed all the way through.
And besides which, they may have almost unlimited funds, but we have unlimited bandwidth collectively...
Re:This certainly smells of election-year politici (Score:5, Informative)
Normally, I'd be inclined to agree, but Rep. Boucher has been championing this issue for some time now.
Story 1 [slashdot.org]
Story 2 [slashdot.org]
Story 3 [slashdot.org]
Story 4 [slashdot.org]
Story 5 [slashdot.org]
There are of course many more. This bill was originally introduced in 2002. This guy is the real deal.
I didn't go back far enough to get the link of his interview here on
Re:This certainly smells of election-year politici (Score:4, Funny)
Aaahhhhh democracy at it's finest! It's just like an auction, whoever bids the most gets the legislation passed!
Auctionist:Do I hear $100,000 for "Anti-DMCA Bill"
Boucher raises hand.
Auctionist: Thank you Mr. Boucher. $100,000 going once, $100,000 going twice... $500,000 by the DMCA filial-group!
Do I hear $550,000...
Re:This certainly smells of election-year politici (Score:4, Interesting)
It's my opinion that it's neither. The way to fix a problem is remove it, not keep patching it up. Bad laws, the DMCA is a prime example, need to be removed. Patching it here and there will give us the same mess we have with the nightmare of drug laws.
Currently, drugs are against the law, except for some drugs, and unless you're in some states and have a medical condition, except that isn't recognized by the federal govt nor every state. Let's throw in the decriminalization movement which leaves the laws entact for certain amounts and certain other drugs, but doesn't outright permit the legal use of drugs. Follow all that? Now, do you really want fair use to look like that?
Either support the DMCA or work to abolish it entirely. This half-assed approach will, in the long run, leave us worse off than we are now, subject to a patchwork of laws and most certainly guilty of something. The only people who benefit from this is the lawyers.
Re:This certainly smells of election-year politici (Score:3, Informative)
A good start, but in the end probably ineffective (Score:5, Interesting)
I am waiting for a law that says that producers have a choice: they may a) allow consumers to back up their music/movies/games or b) agree to replace on demand and without charge any CD/DVD that has been damaged and is no longer playable.
Re:A good start, but in the end probably ineffecti (Score:2)
Oh yeah, I've heard of this. It's the DMFC act. The Digital Media FAT CHANCE act right??? Right???
Re:A good start, but in the end probably ineffecti (Score:2, Insightful)
Jaysyn
Re:A good start, but in the end probably ineffecti (Score:3, Interesting)
Sadly, people like them exist in our world. Some people just don't care.
Re:A good start, but in the end probably ineffecti (Score:2, Interesting)
To whom should we address our letters? (Score:5, Insightful)
What do other slashdotters think would be the most effective action?
Re:To whom should we address our letters? (Score:5, Informative)
You may also want to drop a line to the first sub-committee (Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property) listed here:
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/submembers.htm
and to the first sub-committee (Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection) listed here:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/subcommitte
(BTW - Mary Bono is on that last committee. You might just want to hand write a note that if she doesn't like the bill, you recommend she stick it up her...um, no, maybe that's not a good idea, on second thought)
Re:To whom should we address our letters? (Score:5, Insightful)
As per usual, it is best to mail your own representatives in Congress. No one else's representatives have to answer to you in November, so they won't care.
Question (Score:5, Insightful)
The state of American politics is at an all time low - votes are now strictly gathered by the $, either in congress or by the voting public.
The kicker? Politicians can voters on their side by taking high-profile polarizing issues (like abortion), but then vote on all other issues based upon the pocketbook of the lobbys. The DCMA and "Patriot Act" are two clear examples.
I would have never have said this before, but I'll say it now: next time, I vote for the ACLU.
Re:Question (Score:2)
Plus, which is more likely to work?
1. Supporting something that thinks it has an obligation to a
Re:Question (Score:3, Informative)
The ACLU has typically refused to get involved in some 2nd amendment cases, and has said they interpret the 2nd amendment in terms of a right to have a government accepted militia, rather than individual posession of firearms. They haven't actively campaigned for more firearms laws, just refused to oppose some, such as the Brady act.
The ACLU has often taken the position that rights are inherent in being human, so that even people who aren't US citizen
About Time (Score:4, Insightful)
If your elected officials are up for election this year iterate how important this issue is and a vote on this issue could sway your voting. The politicians are supposed to listen to their voters and we as voters need to let them know what we want. This bill and an election year may help give us more leverage when writing to our reps and senators.
The most important section... (Score:5, Informative)
Finally, at least some of our rights are being upheld.
Re:The most important section... (Score:3, Insightful)
Mr Boucher is a very smart guy, and is usually very up to date on technology, and, as has been stated and shown here on more than one occasion, actually has a clue when it comes to technology and law.
I wish I still lived in VA so I could vote for him again. But either way, he is a nice guy w
What can we do?? (Score:5, Insightful)
And yes, we can be cynical and weep all we want about how money wins in the end, but how many of us did a darn thing about it?? If someone wants to put together an Anti-DMCA rally in D.C, heck, I will be with you shoulder to shoulder..
Lets not whine about how we are defenseless against the MPAA lobby's millions, lets talk about how we plan to kick their ass!
This is similar to my argument about outsourcing.. When news break out that another firm has outsourced to India/Vietnam/China/Russia, there is a sudden outpour of anger and indignation, but once the last post is written, no one seems to care.. What we need is a permanent revolution (yes I am well aware of who said that!)..
Simple (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, let them know how you feel, and if they fail to listen, vote them out (and encourage others to help in that regard.
Re:Simple (Score:3, Insightful)
(1) Does our representatives care about what we think or what the majority of their constituents think?
They wont if we are the minority, and surely an Anti-DMCA bill wont be debated among the majority of its consituents as most of them dont know/dont care. But what if we as a collective, helps the general public in understanding what this bill means, how beneficial it could be for them as well as the ability to innovate, then we might have a chance.
Also by performing as a collec
Re:Simple (Score:2)
Seriously, let them know how you feel, and if they fail to listen, vote them out (and encourage others to help in that regard.
What if I support my representative on just about everything else? You know, important issues not related to entertainment? Let's face facts, I agree with Boucher, and pretty much the sentiment of the slashdot crowd on this subject, but your right to be entertained is hardly the most pressing issue in the upcoming elections.
Re:What can we do?? (Score:3, Informative)
Join the EFF. When I'm asked what EFF stands for on the hat I wear all the time, THIS is the stuff I talk about.
As much as I respect the work the EFF does around fighting the RIAA and DirecTV, this kind of action is what really makes a difference in people's lives. Fighting the travesties that are the Patriot Act and the DMCA is an important piece of work, and the EFF does a phenomenal job through education and communication around these issues.
Why would these companies sign on? (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see the DMCA nuked. But it would seem they've found something in this bill that suits them quite nicely in a financial sense, which immediately raises my skepticism level about how positive their support really is.
Re:Why would these companies sign on? (Score:2)
But you have to presume that somebody needs to "make money" off of DMCA changes, or nobody will support it. It's sad, but simple.
Re:Why would these companies sign on? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Why would these companies sign on? (Score:5, Insightful)
Notice the similarity between the economics of DMCA take down notices and spam?
Re:Why would these companies sign on? (Score:3, Interesting)
Someone has to pay for the extra measures set forth by these types of consumer restrictions. Inevitably it is the consumer, but in the short term it is the providers. In the end both lose.
Follow the money (Score:5, Informative)
Verizon was hit hard by the RIAAs attempts to supoena the names of their users. It's not in Verizon's best interests to give up such names, because they make money on services, not software. The DMCA has severe effects on software and copywrited files. Verizon doesn't give a rats ass (as they should not) as to what goes across their networks, as long as people pay for the right to use those lines.
If people lose privacy and anonymity by using Verizon because they are the target of the RIAA, Verizon will lose customers. Verizon can't afford that.
Also note companies like Comcast and AOL/Time Warner who are cable companies who are NOT on that list. They provide internet services, but they are also part of larger media conglomerates that want their media content providers preserved.
Re:Follow the money (Score:2)
The cable companies dont like this because the DMCA gives them another weapon to use against those who make and distribute "cable unlockers" and "pirate cable boxes" and such like.
Re:Why would these companies sign on? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Why would these companies sign on? (Score:3, Insightful)
The main function was never to make it criminal to actually commit circumvention, which is essentially impossible to enforce. Someone sitting in their den and circumventing to watch a DVD is essentially undetectable and unarrestable.
The DMCA is really *not* about making it criminal to circumvent.
The main function was to make it criminal to give anyone else information enabling them to circumv
So what? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:So what? (Score:2)
Yep. And of course, our favorit Senator from RIAA^H^H^H^HUtah is behind it [slashdot.org].
If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:4, Insightful)
My opinion is that DMCA is wrong, but that's because copyright is inherently protected by the law and that we should be able to perform actions along the fair use doctrine.
But I am afraid this type of law (though good) would just reopen the door for any person to just start sharing copyrighted material again. As consumers, we need to respect copyrights.
It's not a black & white issue (Score:2)
The point being, if someone r
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:2)
Who cares if it's just for backups? The point is that those backups wouldn't be illegal.
I, for one, backup my CDs all the time; I've heard too many horror stories about people leaving their CDs in their cars only to have them stolen. If I get my CDs stolen from my car, at least all I'm losing is a 25 CDR instead of a $15 album.
Video games and movies? Ehh. Too much trouble, and they rarely leave their cas
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't have small children, do you?
Have you ever seen what they can do to a DVD? Have you tried to re-purchase "The Little Mermaid" on DVD in the stores recently? Have you ever wanted to make a copy of the movie that had JUST the movie (no mandatory ads in the beginning)? Did you know that VHS tapes degrade over time and viewing (and that MacroVision prevents their copying?) If you owned a copy of Song of the South, wouldn't you like to have a backup?
Have you ever wanted to leave your original DVD ro CD in the Jukebox, where it's safe, and burn a copy to take with you on vacation?
Did you know that these rights management schemes are effectively useless against for-profit pirates (aside: I'm not one of these)? Have you considered that, with 6 MILLION, ACTIVE file sharers, that accounts for less than 0.1% of the population (aside: I'm not one of these either)?
Now, ask me again: Would these new laws really make a difference to me? Hell yes. It's a PITA to rip and recode a DVD. It's a PITA to dub a VHS tape. It's a PITA to rip and burn a backup CD. It's a trivial process to copy VHS-VHS with two standard VCRs, if no macrovision is involved. It's illegal to manufacture an interface box. It would be a trivial exercise to build a jukebox with a recordable (CD/DVD) drive and let you dub a copy. You can't do that 'cause it's illegal to manufacture such a beast.
Quit treating me like a d@mned criminal.
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:2)
Have you ever wanted to play a copy-protected game on an ultraportable (aka external cd drive) laptop? Pain in the ass to carry that cd around, with the game's cd, plugged in, just so it can say, "okay you can do that."
I'm still pissed that CivIII is copyprotected.
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:4, Insightful)
If it's illegal to pirate software, it should be at least as illegal to shut it down when it was legitimatly purchased, but it's impossible to seek cost-effective redress in court. UCITA would limit damagaes to the cost of the software, if I read it correctly, so the software company never gets punished and I'd still have to pay court costs. Companies like Microsoft have not been at all careful with how they employ the 'remote disable' feature. I want the guns to take what's mine.
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:2)
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:2)
Well, I for one do. Some of my CDs are scratched and unplayable, so I've ripped and remastered them on CD-R, and now I can listen to them again.
I've just acquired a DVD writer so for the couple of DVDs I have that are also stuffed I plan to do the same.
No I haven't got kids, but I haven't been as careful with these allegedly indestructible media as per
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:2)
Open season? Did the season ever close? Anybody "on these boards" with a desire to share protected content probably has enough Google skillz to circumvent the lame DVD and CD encryption in use now. DRM is only a hinderance to ordinary citizens who want to use the media that they bought and paid for.
I'm zealous about non- infringement (Score:2)
"Sharing" will occur with or without the DMCA - it may help fight it, but mostly it just pisses off paying customers...
Re:If the DMCA was repealed... (Score:4, Insightful)
I mean, fair enough: if I own a knife, that does not give me the right to stab other people with it, nor does it give me the right to use it to cut up other people's property without their say-so. If I own a DVD, I can't legally throw it through somebody's window: I would be disrupting their common law property rights by damaging a window that they own. But I can legally watch the film that is recorded on it: that is my common law property right. And regardless of whether I watch that film using a player I bought in a store; or a player I made out of common household materials; or by looking at the pits and lands, translating the zeros and ones in my head, painting pictures on sheets of card and flicking the edges with my thumb; I am acting within my right to view the picture. It is the end that counts, not the means.
I can (almost) understand a prohibition against attempting to defeat encryption techniques, but the fact is that as the rightful owner of the DVD, I am the intended recipient of the encrypted message and I may use any reasonable means at my disposal to do so. Ownership of the DVD gives me the right to defeat the encryption, just as I cannot be arrested for picking the lock of my own front door.
And this is coming from a land without a written constitution! Surely the US constitution guarantees common law property rights?
Anti-DCMA? Kinda. (Score:4, Informative)
I'm all for having big tough friends against the DCMA, I just wish the big tough friends could decide whether or not they're my friends.
I would like to retort this quote... (Score:3, Funny)
Bringing in the government to impose a ban on fair use rights or reverse engineering is a bit troubling to us.
Take action (Score:4, Informative)
Please try it, it takes only a few seconds after you have signed up to send an e-mail on each topic that comes up.
I hate to be cynical (Score:2, Insightful)
I wish it wasn't. I wish that if I wrote a letter it would make a difference. But the battle lines for this were drawn decades ago and the misinformation surrounding this are so high that I'll bet most senators and representatives really feel that only evil pirates are against the DMCA at this point.
Intel playing both sides, it seems. (Score:3, Insightful)
Support the supporters (Score:4, Insightful)
It looks like someone listened to Cory Doctorow (Score:3, Informative)
You know the drill (Score:2)
Interesting. (Score:2, Insightful)
nice. (Score:3, Interesting)
But, I'd be in touch with important issues.
I.e.: Don't install face recognition systems -- they don't work. Instead, spend $BILLION to pay the minimum wage rentacops at the airports to actually care whether or not a terrorist goes through.
I will fight for the consumer's rights against Corporate America, and ensure your privacy in the digital age.
So, who'll vote for me?
Witness public discourse in action! (Score:4, Funny)
Everyone else: Well, you can put whatever information you want on a disk and try to sell it, but you know DRM doesn't really work so it's sort of pointless. Isn't your only option to work on interdicting commercial bootlegging, the only place you're likely to recoup a reasonable recompense without alienating your consumer base and the only real source of your legitimate copyright-violation problems anyway?
MPAA/RIAA/et al: Crap! DRM doesn't really work anyway! I know, we'll pay off congress to have a special case exception of innocent until proven guilty written into the law! DRM still doesn't work but now it's illegal to prove that in the real world! That'll show those rotten pirates!
Adobe: Arrest that durn Ruskie! He is giving a talk which is embarassing to us! Pirates, ARRRR!
Everyone else: Geez, that new legislation seems kinda excessive. It's already illegal to duplicate and distribute copyrighted materials without permission. So what good does banning tools that MIGHT be used for that purpose do? Plus, it doesn't work. DeCSS might be illegal under the DMCA, and it's one of the most ubiquitous pieces of code on the internet. It's redundant, violates the spirit of the constitution, inneffective, frequently unenforceable, and it alienates legitimate consumers of your products who want the freedom to legally use them in the way and on the equipment that is best for them!
MPAA/RIAA/et al: Oh, so you want some free music do you, you little thirteen-year-old tramp? Well here's a subpeona for you! And one for you, and you, and your little dog too! We have five dollars for each of you!
Everyone else: wow, these people are out of control. Hey, massive electronics and telecommunications business, can you give us a hand here? We spend a lot more money on you. These people are obsessed with killing innovation to protect technologies that don't work to prevent violations that don't matter and don't prevent the bootlegging that actually hurts them anyway.
Intel, Sun Microsystems, Verizon Communications, SBC, Qwest, Gateway and BellSouth, Philips Consumer Electronics North America, the Consumer Electronics Association, the American Library Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America, Public Knowledge, the American Foundation for the Blind, the United States Telecom Association, the Computer and Communications Industry Association...
MPAA/RIAA/et al: Noooo! If we lose the red herring of our brave fight against piracy our shareholders might finally figure out we're just screw-ups who have been squandering their money with our insane business strategy of screwing all our customers AND the actual producers of our products at the same time!
Hello? Venture Capitalists? Have I got a deal for you...
I wrote Representative Boucher today (Score:3, Insightful)
In one case, after I cracked the password of a vender package, I reported the password back to the vender's help desk, where they now give it out to everyone who asks (before I cracked the password, they didn't know it, because I asked).
I urge others with such examples to do the same and give Rep Boucher more data to work with.
Hollywood Strikes Back (Score:3, Funny)
(Cue Hal Douglas' [cedpromos.com] voice.) A band of terrorist communist librarians, covertly funded by a telecom cartel calling itself the "Personal Technology Freedom Coalition" and including Intel, Sun Microsystems, Verizon, SBC, Qwest, Gateway and BellSouth, and having a well-placed mole in the highest echelons of government, plots to undermine America's greatest export - culture - and bring down the US economy, by depriving freedom-loving, orange-bearded set decorators of their God-given right to make an honest living.
what a bad idea... (Score:3, Interesting)
This doesn't solve anything, it only makes the whole situation worse. With the DMCA at least I *knew* I was guilty of copyright infringement when I did thing X; after this act I won't have a goddamn clue. That can only be a good thing for the RIAA/MPAA, who'll then be free to persecute Americans who couldn't figure out the fucking bill and committed a series of crimes when they thought they were in the clear.
If I were you, I'd wonder if this boy isn't getting funding from some bar association.
Max
Let Companies live in the real world (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the most intelligent thing I've heard anybody say about the copy protection controversy.
Back in the 70s and early 80s HBO was broadcast through the air like DirecTV. People used to build their own receivers using antennas made out of coffee cans (I know -- I had one). After HBO had harassed and threatened antenna owners for several years, the courts finally ruled that the company couldn't control what people did with the broadcast signal in their own homes. HBO's next move was to scramble the signal, which was easily defeated by those with access to spectrum analyzers but largely stymied the coffee-can community. The eventual solution was for HBO to join the cable world.
I always thought this was the sensible way to handle the controversy. Make companies do business in the real world, rather than letting them reshape it to their needs. Lately our government has gone in the opposite direction, with legislators tailoring laws to suit the demands of their financial backers.
One thing that must be repeated over and over is that copyright infringement is not stealing, because copyright is not property. It's a temporary restriction imposed on everybody except the copyright holder. Copyright holders don't "own" anything, and copyright doesn't give them any extra rights, it takes rights away from everybody else for a limited time. Copyright infringement may cause financial losses, but so do lots of other things -- arson, vandalism, assault, murder, for example -- and we don't call those things theft.
It's important to keep repeating this because the content industry has essentially hijacked the concepts of property ownership and theft. They play the part of the little old lady chasing a purse snatcher, and they label critics of current copyright laws as socialists threatening the whole concept of private property.
Re:What is DMCA (Score:2, Informative)