On Saturday 04 December 2004 10:42, you wrote:
> On Sat, 2004-12-04 at 08:49 -0700, Austin Godber wrote:
> > Violating the DMCA however is another matter.
> >
> > As a(n) (exclusively) linux user I am left with no choice but to violate
> > the copyright protection mechanism circumvention clause of that
> > particular law in order to consume content that I have legally purchased.
> >
> > Despite having purchased many DVDs I don't own a device which will allow
> > me to view these DVDs without violating said law. Therefore I am a
> > criminal based on my choice of operating system.
>
> ----
> I fail to see where this is the case. You are neglecting the issue of
> fair use.
> ----
>
> > I am not violating copyright law. I am using content which I have
> > lawfully purchased and have the right to use.
>
> ----
> I would agree with this.
> ----
>
> > The DMCA, however,
> > prohibits my use of that lawfully obtained material. The DMCA trumps
> > the intent of copyright law (which happens to also be spiralling wildly
> > out of balance in the favor of the publishers/content providers).
> >
> > For additional information regarding these issues check out Lawrence
> > Lessig's book Free Culture ... it is available here:
> > http://www.free-culture.cc/freecontent/
> > under a creative commons license which permits free
> > copying/redistribution etc (check its license).
> >
> > Unfortunately Mike, you would have exposed yourself less legally had you
> > waited for the movie to come out on DVD and then shop lifted it from a
> > retail store. What are the penalties for shoplifting if its your first
> > offense? A few hundred dollars? A single instance of copyright
> > violation is about $150,000. Or $300/hour to defend yourself with a
> > lawyer if you have a case. But this is all worst case scenario ... it
> > is possible that compliance with the letter or something else is
> > sufficient ... a scare or slap on the wrist ... will make them happy.
> >
> > You know ... the thing that really ... ahem ... annoys me is that none
> > of this is a matter of whether or not you have broken the law. Lets say
> > that you just suck at running a computer ... and you have been rooted
> > for weeks and SOMEONE else is doing this ... or perhaps you have an
> > unsecured wireless network at home. YOU COULD BE COMPLETELY INNOCENT
> > YET COMPLETELY HELPLESS because to fight them would cost outrageous
> > ammounts of money. I won't argue for a second about the copyright
> > holders right to have some control over their content. But the world is
> > changing and the government needs to strike the balance between what is
> > good for the country as a whole and what is good for the copyright
> > holders. With 90 year copyrights and insane penalties for violating the
> > law things have become a bit absurd. Hopefully it will right itself ...
> > or rather those with the power to make the changes make the right
> > decisions. Otherwise ... we will all continue to be criminals soley
> > based on our choice of OS. Which in my opinion is a bunch of crap-ola.
>
> ----
> The system of copyrights, patents and trademarks is broken and needs to
> be fixed.
>
> Craig
Absolutely. It's hard to see the system getting fixed, though, under the
current regime. The politicians are in the pockets of Disney and Warner
Bros, and no amount of so-called "campaign finance reform" will change that.
(The "reform" just stifles free speech and makes things worse, IMHO.) The
situation will get worse, and not until there's public outcry over teenagers
and grannies being sent to federal prison, will the law be changed. Even so,
this kind of stuff has happend in the "drug war" and despite the outcry it's
still with us. Hopefully the media's propaganda machine won't be able to
demonize copyright infringers to the same degree as they've done with drug
users (though I'm sure they'll try!)
Vaughn
>
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