Slashdot Mirror

We're moving that way. The DMCA gets reviewed every 3 years, and changes do happen:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blog/fair-use/fair-use-victories-dmca

"What is currently illegal is format shifting from DVD or BlueRay disks to other video medium"

says who? I hope you don't go by the industry created 'warnings' on the media.

"This is becasue your are bypassing an encryption scheme to do it,"
What? no you don't. Wither you copy it bit by bit, or you capture it after the encryption is done.

I have no idea why you think you can't do a bit by bit copy of a Blu-Ray disk to your HD and then play if back with a Blu-Ray player. At NO POINT in the copying process are you decrypting it.

FYI: the DMCA comes up for review every 3 years. If you don't like it, I suggest you contact the Librarian of the Congress.
Victories do happen:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blog/fair-use/fair-use-victories-dmca

So what's the solution

There needs to be a more detailed code of best practices, as, e.g., what has been agreed to for documentary film makers, or what we are hoping to see for user-generated online video. Also there should be some kind of very inexpensive arbitration forum where these issues can be resolved quickly, expeditiously, inexpensively, and before -- rather than after -- the creator has invested his or her time, energy, and money.

Remember that /. story a few weeks ago "Your Mashup is Probably Legal?" It talked of a group of copyright experts who issued Fair Use guidelines for the use of copyrighted material in videos. In it, they issued 6 guidelines. Quoting:

FOUR: REPRODUCING, REPOSTING, OR QUOTING IN ORDER TO MEMORIALIZE, PRESERVE, OR RESCUE AN EXPERIENCE, AN EVENT, OR A CULTURAL PHENOMENON

DESCRIPTION: Repurposed copyrighted material is central to this kind of video. For instance, someone may record their favorite performance or document their own presence at a rock concert. Someone may post a controversial or notorious moment from broadcast television or a public event (a Stephen Colbert speech, a presidential address, a celebrity blooper). Someone may reproduce portions of a work that has been taken out of circulation, unjustly in their opinion. Gamers may record their performances. (emphasis mine)

PRINCIPLE: Video makers are using new technology to accomplish culturally positive functions that are widely acceptedâ"or even celebratedâ"in the analog information environment. In other media and platforms, creators regularly recollect, describe, catalog, and preserve cultural expression for public memory. Written memoirs for instance are valued for the specificity and accuracy of their recollections; collectors of ephemeral material are valued for creating archives for future users. Such memorializing transforms the original in various waysâ"perhaps by putting the original work in a different context, perhaps by putting it in juxtaposition with other such works, perhaps by preserving it. This use also does not impair the legitimate market for the original work.

LIMITATION: Fair use reaches its limits when the entertainment content is reproduced in amounts that are disproportionate to purposes of documentation, or in the case of archiving, when the material is readily available from authorized sources.

American University's Center for Social Media working with the Washington College of Law coordinated the release yesterday of a Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use authored by several independent film organizations. The statement explains approaches documentary makers can take in asserting fair use rights in their films.

American University's Center for Social Media working with the Washington College of Law coordinated the release yesterday of a Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use authored by several independent film organizations. The statement explains approaches documentary makers can take in asserting fair use rights in their films.

Is copyright killing culture? Some documentary filmmakers certainly think so.