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IEEE Wants Congress To Re-Examine DMCA
softsign writes "Reading this story in this month's IEEE The Institute, I found that IEEE-USA quietly published two position papers asking the US Congress to re-examine and/or clarify sections of the DMCA last year. The papers - developed by the organization's Intellectual Property committee - specifically cite concerns over the chilling effects and misuse of the DMCA against researchers and ISPs. Initially, the IEEE was pretty wishy-washy about the DMCA, but it seems that they've been listening to their members and have developed a pretty strong anti-DMCA, pro-innovation stance. Including an enlightened view on Fair Use rights!"
Check out http://www.chillingeffects.org.
...its flammability.
~D:
I really doubt that Congress, who won't listen to the majority of its citizens, will bother to listen to a collection of scientists that don't provide any money to their campaign coffers.
After all, the RIAA and MPAA can probably outspend the IEEE by about 500 to one or more.
I hate to be too cynical, but this seems to be a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing to anyone who isn't a geek.
I'm glad to finally see a big dog enter the fight. Don't get me wrong, the EFF and Slashdot community are great, but they have a tendancy to allow their bark to be louder than their bite.... So having the IEEE peeps start in on this is definately a good thing.
Ave Molech Setting
you cant be serious.
CNN is operated by those who made the DMCA and those who benefit from its being enforced. CNN has government "interns" working with the story-writers. CNN would never inspire popular debate on a topic that perfectly suits their interests and will go unchallenged as long as it remains out of mainstream media.
-- "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." Jean Jacques Rousseau
Two years ago I brought basic concerns about misuse of patent law and the DMCA to my Congressman, Goodlatte (R-VA). He said that I was either a thief or advocated stealing because I opposed his bill and that a lot of technical people did too. You see, they don't care what the actual coders think, they care what corporations and unions' leaders think.
Stop acting like Congress represents you. It gets auctioned off every year and CFR isn't going to fix it. It is the 2-party system that is to blame. Even if you outlawed bribery on the pain of death under our current system you'd see no meaningful change. It is because only the best looking and/or most ruthless people get into office.
I'm a CS student and a regular voter and supporter of the LP and 85% of its positions (I only disagree on its espionage and immigration policies, I support the CIA and believe immigration should be heavily restricted). I was talking the other day with probably the only girl in our department who genuinely "gets it" with coding. She's better than most of the guys and we were talking about politics and she said agreed that universal democracy is a bad idea. She said that most of the women she knows that voted for Clinton in 92 did so because he was the sexiest candidate and she said that in her opinion such idiots should be disenfranchised.
Most geeks don't understand political people. I have been around enough of them and have been drug into political conversations enough to know exactly how they think. Invariably political people tend to be scumbags. They practically get off on social and political discussions and yet they have no real desire or capacity as a general rule to effect positive change.
I am a semi-Stalinist Socialist-turned-Libertarian. I learned from history that only **one** system of government works for a long time and that's a Liberal republic. Liberalism is the key to the salvation of the human race and that's what both conservatives and leftists cannot understand. The Liberalism of Locke, Friedmon and co. is an experiment in true civilization. Stop bitching about how Bush and co. undermine democracy. Fuck democracy. You want to see real democracy unleashed on a nation? Read up on Socrates' last days on this Earth. The summaray execution of Socrates by committee for his beliefs is the true face of democracy. It is as vile and vicious as any communist or fascist government that has ever existed. Be concerned about your natural rights, the rights that are inherent to your being a human being such as your right to own property, speak freely, defend yourself and be secure in your home and person. I would rather live under a benevolent dictatorship such as a platonic republic that respects my rights than a democratic system that lets "the people" get whatever they want.
Democracy doesn't work. The average person doesn't have the intellectual maturity and education to wield the political power that is the vote. I would rather lose my right to vote and know that my representative truly is a peer than have an aristocrat lord over me like I'm a sheep that needs to be herded. Excuse the hell out of me, Congress, but I know more about computers than all of you combined. If our representatives were chosen at random from the bourgiouse then we'd have representatives who could actually relate to us and would see us as equals. We'd also have a system where they don't have to take shit off of us or special interests and can do the right thing. Choose them at random from the bourgiouse, give them one term in office and if they take bribes lynch them from the nearest tree in DC.
Click here or a puppy gets stomped!
I think it's important to point out that this is the mother of all engineering groups we're talking about here. These are not exactly hot-headed activists. That may make their words a little more tame, but - one hopes - their message all the more potent.
how about this...
in the 1850's they called slavery a property, rather than a form of controll; today they call copyrights a form of property
in the 1850 they thought that the entire purpose of the industrial revolution was to use inventions like the cotton gin to expand the size of their plantations for unlimited controll and profit. Today people think the information age is about using the internet to leverage their copyright holdings for infinite and unlimited reach.
"I have no incentive to grow cotton without slaves", "freeing slaves is common theivery", "the great wealth of the plantation system show's it's goodness", "I put effort into getting them slaves" sould alot like "artists have no incentive to create ... etc" , "copying is piracy", and "the great financial success of the movie and software industries is owed to copyrights". etc...
And how about the market crash of the 1850's when all sorts of experimental business ventures involving industrial technology crashed. (dot com bust?)
even a civil war happened next, today we have a war on terrorisim?
IEEE-USA quietly published two position papers asking the US Congress to re-examine and/or clarify sections of the DMCA last year
Actually, there are three papers:
Actually...the DMCA makes it illegal to do what you have a legal right to do. Under current copyright laws you have the ability to make 1 copy of any material that you own as long as it is for personal use only, and makes no mention of the medium for that copy.
Sure there is the potential for abuse in being able to make digital copies of your movies, music, etc...but there's always the potential for abuse no matter what the medium. The same argument was made 20-30 years ago with VHS tapes, back when similar DMCA laws were being proposed, but were subsequently rejected.
Is there any reason that I can't make a copy of the DVDs that I have a purchased and under copyright laws am legally allowed to make? What is wrong with me making a digital copy of it for myself?
NeoChichiri
http://www.neochichiri.net