Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 13:52:36 -0500 From: Mike Meyer <mwm-dated-1022007157.577b53@mired.org> To: Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@online.fr> Cc: Nils Holland <nils@daemon.tisys.org>, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: The road ahead? Message-ID: <15587.65524.899611.798267@guru.mired.org> In-Reply-To: <20020516193049.G79514@lpt.ens.fr> References: <20020516004909.A9808@daemon.tisys.org> <15586.61471.456290.764885@guru.mired.org> <20020515211922.J1282@darkstar.gte.net> <3CE34A8B.7D999E2C@mindspring.com> <20020516091031.A2259@daemon.tisys.org> <15587.56669.382241.766052@guru.mired.org> <20020516192546.B8944@daemon.tisys.org> <20020516193049.G79514@lpt.ens.fr>
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In <20020516193049.G79514@lpt.ens.fr>, Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@online.fr> typed: > Nils Holland said on May 16, 2002 at 19:25:46: > > I should probably try to get some more in-depth information on that topic, > > but from the bits and pieces I currently know, this is very insane. Seems > > that some companies want to make *any* technology illegal that *could* > > theoretically be used to violate the copyright. That's somhow like > > outlawing ordinary knives, as these could (illegally) be used to kill > > people... > That's exactly what the DMCA is about. Half right. The DMCA proper doesn't have the hardware requirement on the computer industry, nor does it make it illegal to break the encryption even if you don't violate the copyright. The DMCA is law, and makes it illegal to *tell* someone how to break the encryption, or sell devices that can be used to break the encryption. So if Stephen King bought a copy of his novel as a PC e-book, you couldn't legally give him the software to read it on the Mac, or tell him how to do it. If he figured out how to break it himself, or got the software to break it illegally, his actually breaking the encryption software wouldn't be illegal under the DMCA. People have already been arrested for violating the DMCA. There was a bill called "DMCA Title II" until the authors decided to put a positive spin on it and change the name to "Security Systems Standards and Certification Act". This is the bill that has the hardware requirements in it. It also makes breaking the encryption illegal, and puts control of encryption research in the hands of the MPAA and RIAA. And some naive people thought the publishers had overextended themselves with DMCA, and it was going to be retracted. > This week's lwn.net has an interesting comment: recently people have > reported that copy-protected audio CDs can be played/ripped simply by > covering their outer tracks with a black marker or a Post-It. If that > is so, black markers and Post-Its are devices that can be used to > circumvent digital copy controls, and therefore should be illegal > under the DMCA... lwn.net is in violation of the DMCA. The people using black tape etc. are not, but would be in violation of the SSSCA if it were passed. And Stephen King couldn't legally use a Mac to read his own novel sold for use on a PC. Finally, people who own Mac's that came with flatpanel displays have discovered that these not-quite-CD things will cause their Mac to lock the CD drive, requiring a technician to get the thing to release. This wonderful thing is from the country that brought you the scopes monkey trial. America - entertaining the world. <mike -- Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> http://www.mired.org/consulting.html Independent WWW/Perforce/FreeBSD/Unix consultant, email for more information. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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