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DC LUGs To Protest DMCA
Serge Wroclawski writes: "The LUGs in the DC area are protesting the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act on Tuesday. The press release concerning the protest can be found online as well as an actual copy of the DMCA (with commentary availible)." If you're in driving distance of Washington D.C., consider showing up to respectfully make your opinion known to the lawmakers. Slashdot's timothy (yours truly) will be there as well, so look for a followup on later on Tuesday.
I know this view is going to be unpopular here on /., but I personally think that there has been too much fuss over the DMCA. I mean, yeah, the DeCSS thing is a fiasco, but in the end everything will balance out.
The DMCA, and now the UCITA, are simple examples of the market regulating itself through the legal use of lobbying. IMHO this is a good thing, since more government intervention can only lead to a socialist-like stifling of the market, which is bad for everyone concerned. And while the DMCA is somewhat prohibitive, it will become less so as time goes on due to the self-regulation inherent in our country's laws. In a couple of years time we will all be wondering what the fuss about this was.
New XFMail home page
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I thought the DMCA had already been passed. Will the protesters be asking for it to be repealed, or what?
Still, anything that provides a counterweight to lobbying by the copyright industry is welcome.
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
Interesting response, and also quite predictable. Unfortunately the exceptions for reverse engineering are so narrow as to be useless, and are not preventing the MPAA from suing over DeCSS. Please see my more detailed commentary on the DMCA at:
http://www.tuxers.net/dmca/dmca-notes.txt
David C Niemi
We could always block the entrance to the Capitol building in DC so Congress would be trapped inside, but...
If only I could make a site which would have premade letters to Congress about the DMCA and other geek issues (and the ability to send them directly by email or maybe fax), and was able to make this a highly-visited web site by both geeks and non-geeks, then we could be one step closer.
US businesses that currently accept chip and PIN/signature
> When do the politicians learn that co-operation is the best way ahead
Never. Because co-operation is the best way ahead for the public, but exclusiveness is the best way ahead for themselves.
--
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
We need to get the NLUGs (Nashville) to March down Music Row where all of the record companies have offices. I'll help!
> I know I'll probably be blasted for this post, but come on, deep down we all have to agree that some form of copy protection must be allowed to exist.
Not me; I think you're being perfectly reasonable. But let me back up and put a different spin on something you said:
> The DMCA seems to be the same as any other copyright act out there, protecting the owners of the copyright from people who intentionally illegaly misuse products. The guilty ones here are the corporations who are trying to bend the DMCA to their distorted views of reality
The rich and powerful always bend the laws to their own advantage, and of course they have much more bending muscle than Joe Consumer does. The only solution is to reject any proposed laws that are too easy for them to exploit. Such as the DMCA.
And knowing the way the lobbying system runs the USA, it's a fair bet that "the guilty ones" managed to buy the legislation in the first place, and did so for the express purpose of bending/exploiting it. Indeed, they don't have to do much bending with this one, because it pretty much spells out what they want.
Ditto for UCITA, though the corporate meddling is much more transparent.
--
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Molog
So Linus, what are we doing tonight?
So Linus, what are we going to do tonight?
The same thing we do every night Tux. Try to take over the world!
I just took time out to actually read the DMCA. First, let me say, I agree that it is a bad law just because of the intent of the chief backer's, the music industry. That said, I would like to state that the first thing I see is a glaring hole that will allow the decryption technology that it is aimed at to be continued to be available:
Paragraph 1, and its subparagraphs, tells us that "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title". Right. This is the part that we're all up in arms about. But read on to paragraph 2: "No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that... has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title..."
Isn't one of our chief complaints that DMCA will lock up an otherwise useful technology? Doesn't this part of the law open the door right back up? I read it as saying that decryption technologies that might be used to decrypt music files are still OK, as long as that is not what you use them for.Just my take.
Gonzo
Included below is the response I received from Senator Grassley (R, IA):
- Thank you for taking the time to communicate with me. As your Senator, it's important for me to hear from you.
Many of the mistakes that Grassley makes are fairly evident in the letter (re: piracy and fair use); I've already sent a clarification of course.I appreciate hearing your concerns about the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and ongoing litigation against software developers who had decrypted the DVD Content Scrambling System information for the Linux operating system.
As you know, the DMCA implements the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties by amending the copyright laws. The legislation was the result of intensive negotiations between the interested parties and enjoyed broad support of the constituencies it affected. The DMCA is an attempt to balance strong and effective measures to deter piracy of copyrighted works, while allowing for fair use of protected materials in the digital age.
I understand that you specifically are concerned that the DMCA criminalizes any attempt to reverse-engineer the encryption of copyright media. You should be aware that the DMCA provides for a number of specific exceptions, including an exception for reverse-engineering. The U.S. Copyright Office explains that section 1201(f) of the DMCA "permits circumvention, and the development of technological means for such circumvention, by a person who has lawfully obtained a right to use a copy of a computer program for the sole purpose of identifying and analyzing elements of the program necessary to achieve interoperability with other programs, to the extent that such acts are permitted under copyright law." Moreover, the language of the DMCA explicitly states that nothing in the law shall affect the fair use of protected works. The Senate Judiciary Committee's Report on the DMCA made clear that "the fair use doctrine is fully applicable in the digital world as in the analog world." I believe that it is apparent from the language of the DMCA and its Committee Report that devices such as VCR's and computers will not be rendered illegal by this legislation. The sole purpose behind the DMCA was to outlaw the widespread piracy of copyrighted works, and not to outlaw devices like VCR's or computers, or their legitimate use by consumers.
Copyright owners have a legitimate concern about the ease in which digital works can be copied and distributed through the internet. Because the copyright industry is one of our largest and fastest growing economic assets, it was important that Congress enact strong legislation to implement the WIPO treaties and set a high standard for other nations to follow so that the rampant piracy of U.S. Copyrighted works can be stopped. Nevertheless, Congress may consider whether modifications to the DMCA are necessary. Rest assured, I will keep your views in mind if and when the Senate reviews legislation which would amend the copyright laws.
Again, thank you for contacting me. I appreciate hearing your views and urge you to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
[ Signed: Chuck ]
Charles E. Grassley
United States Senator
The important part that I saw was his statement "I believe it is apparent from the language of the DMCA and its Committee Report that devices such as VCRs and computers will not be rendered illegal by this legislation." -- it's up to you to show them that they have been!
I/O Error G-17: Aborting Installation
One more, the most important of all:
So if you haven't yet decided whether the DCMA is worth fighting against, consider these arguments. Join the fight to make sure that the entire DCMA is thrown out as an unconstitutional infringement of our rights. [4 good ways (?), contacting your congressional representatives, media exposure where available, boycotting the studios, and by financially supporting the EFF.]...Open Source isn't the only answer -- but it's almost always a better value than the alternatives...
This is good, but we need protests done in other cities (like Silicon Valley, where the DVD lawsuits are taking place)
If only done in Washington, DC, the US government won't get the picture and just ignore it on the basis that the rest of the population has no problem with the DMCA.
And don't forget to submit your comments to the Library of Congress too (Deadline's the end of this month)
US businesses that currently accept chip and PIN/signature
Molog
So Linus, what are we doing tonight?
So Linus, what are we going to do tonight?
The same thing we do every night Tux. Try to take over the world!
One of the reasons we never hear about protests like this ahead of time is because the Geek community is fragmented. There are a few central hubs in the commmunity like RMS and Slashdot - but they are too busy to go all out and organize something of >10k.
/.) are computer oriented so a DoS attacks like the one the ElectroHippies staged on the WTO would appeal to us far more than standing on some corner holding signs. Furthermore many of us (judging by the responses to the articles that were posted about the elections) don't have faith in Congress any more. We simply face the facts that because we are not a all-godly lobby so we will not ever influence joeblow senator/representative.
What someone needs to do in order to have an effective protest - is to set up a webpage - something like the ElectroHippies page that Protests the WTO and contact major websites that Geeks visit. An mailing list should be started so people can subscribe - find out details and contact other local geeks. (Even though this may sound like dilbert) Committees need to be formed with people in charge of transportation and like.
Now - why the above will probably never happen. We Geeks (at least a fair amount of those on
I hate being pessimistic - so I'll end on an upbeat note. This year (at least in the US) is an election year. Many politicians will be going back to their home states and campaigning. If a politico should come to your area and hold a forum, go ask him his/her opinion on the DCMA. The protest comming up is one I cannot attend (due to limited finances and distance). However, I should like someone to run a webcam (anyone know if one is gonna be up?) and I will tune in (from work). I would also be willing to snail mail the politicians that live in the area around me.
The above poster also said that this protest would get no media attention... WRONG! I bet it gets a fair amount - when was the last time that white color enginneers/technicians protested at the White House? - At least on the Net it will be covered.
SIDE NOTE: - Someone should see if we could get some Enginneers Unions and like to protest it also - the unions (at least the one at Boeing) seem to have a fair amount of power.
Is it progress if a cannibal uses a fork?
As long as you are taking the time to come out and do some Rah Rah (the term of art for a group of people 10-10,000 rallying on the Capitol grounds,) Why don't you actually schedule time to come in a see the congressional staff - the people who wrote the DMCA in the first place. One poster had mentioned hitting representatives at town halls in their districts and states. While this should not be discouraged, the end result will be the member going back to their staff, asking "have you heard many complaints about the DMCA" and when the answer is no, filing you away as a crackpot. Yes, the MPAA and RIAA are here, so is the Patent Bar lobby, but none of them are grassroots organizations, they represent business interests, and they are treated as such (for better and worse).
AIPAC (the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee) is often ranked as the most effective lobby in Washington by other lobbyists and legislative staff. Every year they bring 3-4000 members to Washington for a 3 day conference. This includes a "Hill Day" when members "storm the hill", groups going to the office of their own Congressmen and Senators. Offices will never say no to meeting constituents in DC. The AIPACers sit down with staff and push their legislative agenda for the year. Backing up these visits is the other end of AIPAC is a very intelligent, thoughtful group of academics who can supply supporting material for any pro-Israel argument a member or hill staffer would like to make. This small group is located in DC, they understand how to make material relevant to the legislative process, and they know the members.
The point of this is, I know the tech crowd has some roots in the ex-hippies of the 70s and early 80s, and barricading the doors of congress (as suggested by one post) seems like a effective idea. Most techs are very intelligent, if not eloquent, individuals. The web is the single most effective tool for political organization we've ever known, and it's your domain. Organize and communicate. When you come to DC or NOVA, make time to meet with the staff of your Senator or Congressman. Maintain lists of members, rank their votes on issues - know who your friends are, stay in touch with the staff. Once you have the business card of a Senate LA, you can call or e-mail that person at will (or at least until you make a nuisance of yourself - be professional). Stop whining that Congress won't take a personal interest in you, take a personal interest in Congress.
If you truly believe that the government is out of your reach and it doesn't matter what you say, why bother to even come and protest? You should be hiding from the black helicopters by now. If you want to get something done, get involved, grok the system, and work it.
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal...