Copyright Office Needs Comments On DMCA By March 31

mdonaghy writes: "The EFF and the U.S. Copyright Office are looking for [further] public comments on the DMCA, as stated in this EFF alert. The deadline for comments is Friday, March 31. This should be a good place to voice our concerns about copyrights that several readers have previously voiced in Slashdot forums." (more)

Though the DMCA was signed into law in 1998, the rules of engagement are still being debated. This is your chance to make "reply comments," and address the arguments raised by the entertainment giants. The EFF link above sorts important previous comments straightforwardly into "pro-freedom" and "anti-freedom," for obvious reasons.

If you haven't yet added your voice, you now have nearly two weeks to do so. You might want to read the thread about the last round of comments on the same issue, and emulate the comments you find most persuasive.

Comments

ALL CALL

[MerkuryZ]

We all need to do something about this. The DMCA is a VERY bad thing. We have 13 days to voice our opinions. If we don't all do our part, we will all regret it. If you haven't read the DMCA yet, you can read about it here

The DMCA can be interpreted to put ISPs out of business if they don't respond quickly to requests. Several weeks ago, I recieved an email from the RIAA telling me that a customer of ours had an illegal site up, and that we could be help responsible for ANY OTHER copyright violations, now that they have informed us. This was not a site hosted by us, but a customer with a broadband connection. This brings up the following questions...

1.) How does the RIAA go about finding these sites, do they scan networks for port 21. Do they hop on IRC to find these sites?

2.) How am I, as a network admin, supposed to prevent any single user from setting up a server that violates any provision of the DMCA?

3.) If I, as a network admin, am unable to determine whether or not the material on a server is indeed violating any law, am I required to shut it down until I am able to determine this?

4.) Am I, a normal user, allowed to make back-up copies of music that I own. What formats am I allowed to make these back up copys in. Can I make a duplicate of a CD, for my car. According to the DMCA, I can't

If we don't do something about these issues now, we lose our opportunity to do so for 2 years, then 3 years after that.

A Proposal

[ATKeiper]

If anyone wishes to send their comments to the Copyright Office in PDF format, I would be glad to save your message in PDF format and send it back to you so you can send it on to the Copyright Office. As the EFF site notes, PDF is not required by the Copyright Office, but it is "preferred."

If you wish, we'll also make suggestions for how you can improve your comments for maximum effect.

Just send your message to:
Copyright_reply@hotmail.com

A. Keiper
The Center for the Study of Technology and Society
Washington, D.C.