[KLUG Advocacy] [Fwd: [cfgeeks] Disturbing DMCA story] -- this is getting rediculous ...

[Robert G. Brown]

An interesting article on this topic, posted recently:
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/20030102_dmca_unintended_consequences.html

>>>We know an individual being accused of a DMCA violation won't go that far, 
>>>as they can't hold up in court as long as a corporation can, but if it's 
>>>one corp against another then it actuallly stands a chance.
>>Corporations will settle out of court, probably before the case comes up
>>in public, and negotiate licences and so forth. It will probably not even
>>get to litigation at all. If GM wants to use something Sun has, they'll 
>>pick up the phone and do the deal.
>I think if anyone "takes on" the DMCA in a high court it is likely to be
>the ACLU, the EFF, or some such organization.  Maybe one of the consumer
>protection organs, as there are several well funded ones of those.
They'll need a case, of course. The above are good candidate, as well as
Mr. Nader.

>I can't see two behemoth corporations going to the grinder over this,  it
>just wouldn't be worth the trouble - write a check and move on.
For large corporations it would be a complete act of folly, and it reveals
the true nature of the law IMO, and as I've written earlier:

>>It is clear to me that the express intent of this law is to stop individuals
>>from "meddling" in the "magic" inside the black boxes the corporations are
>>intent on selling us all, under very controlled conditions, backed by the
>>arm of the law. If you want to include little business in what I refer to
>>as "individuals" here, that's OK with me.
>Yep, thats my impression too.
OK. I'm waiting for ANY OTHER member of this mailing list to come up
with a different interpretation of the DMCA. I'd really like to see 
one, or a defense of the DMCA as "good" legislation. No flames will
come from here, promise!

>>>I hope that thing is gone in 5 years so I can rest easy.
>>The sooner it's gone, the easier we can all rest.
>"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson
"The Tree of Liberty must be watered from time to time with the blood of 
Patriots"  -- Tom Paine [??]

>The proverb "No rest for the wicked" is exactly back wards, they get
>vacations in the Bahamas with senators.
That's a vacation? Have you ever vacationed with a Senator??
The purpose of thse homes is the GET AWAY from the Senators.
I think the really wicked get their comuppance. It may be a long time
coming, but it happens.

>If the DMCA gets clobbered, something else will come along, I imagine
>under the guise of national interest or security.
See our quotes from Foundinf Fathers, above. THe DMCA is the current front 
in the battle, there will be (and have been) others. Democracy and protecting
freedoms is hard, continual work.

>You just can't have someone using there mod'd X-Box to launch a D.O.S.
>attack on the root name servers, it interrupts economic activity.
Bad example, perhaps? I don't beleive this is behavior we want to 
condone in any case; there are already laws on the books that can be
used to charge people who do stuff like this, and they pre-date the
DMCA by a fair amount. 

>When something is done to protect national interests it has much more
>leeway than something done to protect mere corporate interests.
This is true over the short term. Look at the general brou-ha-ha over the 
actions of the Bushites in regard to different and odd legal constructs
being used to support the "War On Terrorism". They won a point this week, 
but they've lost others, by due process and court review. History tells
us a lot of what these people are doing will not stand, certainly not
after the state of emergency has passed.

There's a fair amount of legal distance between looking inside my X-Box 
(well, someone ELSE'S X-Box, I'm NOT buying one) and loading explosives into 
a car and driving it through the gates of the local military establishmnet
(and the network equivalent) or inciting others to do so. I feel that good 
legislation can be (and has been) written which recognizes the difference.

>I despise the DMCA, but in the long run - I can't forsee winning this
>fight, not in the USA anyway.
You seem more pessimistic about this than I do. Can you explain your
position a bit more clearly? What's your definition of "winning", and 
where would this fight be won, if NOT in the USA?
							Regards,
							---> RGB <---