Slashdot Mirror
Library of Congress to Hold DMCA Hearings
petong writes "The Library of Congress's Copyright Office will be holding hearings to find out if changes need to be made to the DMCA, according to News.com.
'Anyone with strong feelings about the DMCA, one way or another, may submit a request by Apr. 1 to testify during the public forums, the Copyright Office said in its announcement. The hearing dates in the U.S. capital will be Apr. 11, Apr. 15 and May 2. The dates and locations in California have not been set yet.'"
I sure hope its not some sick joke by the Copyright Office :)
..
:)
Like have them get us all riled up about complaining only to go with recomendations by the MPAA or RIAA.
Doh!!! Not another bad april fools joke
Hehe
.... ... }
int main (void) {
So anyone here on sending in something? What about a collaborated effort here on slashdot, as maybe a draft and then send it?
SuDZ
Anyone with strong feelings about the DMCA, one way or another, may submit a request by Apr. 1 to testify during the public forums,
will this be the first physical slashdoting ever?
This is an excellent opportunity to show that the DMCA is crap but please, those of you who attend don't make fools of yourselves. That means dress nice (no DeCSS t-shirts and wear a tie) and that means bathe, shave, and shower. That also means wear both shoes.
The objective is not to be seen, it's to convince others that your position is the correct and just position.
Considering the huge amount of "article time" given to YRO and the DMCA over the last while, I would expect that there will be many people taking advantage of this. In fact, there are very many of you out there that would be quite foolish to not take this opportunity... hypocritical even!
This is going to be like that old political standby... if you don't vote, then you can't complain about the results. The difference here is that there actually is a good candidate that you can vote for!
I moderate "-1, Fool"
Your comments become the property of the Federal Government, and viewing of the final report requires agreement to the license agreement.
This /. thread from two weeks ago comes to mind:
Lofgren Introduces BALANCE Act to Modify DMCA
I haven't read the bill, but I did check out Representative Lofgren's website. Her points on the issue seem to be quite close to what we have all been clamoring about since the whole DMCA mess got started.
It may not be a perfect solution, but I would certainly point to it as evidence that this is a real problem and that something needs to be done. I already wrote to my Representative asking him to support the measure. I even got a (seemingly) live e-mail response from an intern saying that my comments were forwarded to the congressman.
Right, AC, because clearly every person in the United States who has a problem with the DMCA can afford air-fare, train-fare, or bus-fare to California or D.C. Did you even read the article?
/. about people being out of work? Do you see any conflict here?
Of course not. Well here you go anyway, when it says "may submit a request by Apr. 1 to testify during the public forums." They mean, "This will present a chance for people to show up and make their case and build a good record."
Notice the necessity of physical presence? Notice the other complaints on
The Washington Post did a similar story in which they confirmed the Los Angeles dates and locations:
Los Angeles City Hall
April 17 : 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 18 : 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
April 25 : 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Mark your calendars.
Of course, whos going to do the talking is a big issue. All the people I can think of who've been most vocal about the DMCA (Katz, RMS, etc) are the absolute last people I'd want representing us - we'd look like lunatic fringe, and add credence to the yuppies pushing this thing.
Whaat we'd need are well-spoken workers in computer technology and academics who can say that this limitation is bad for the economy and for progress/invention.
Here is a link to the DeCSS program, defined as a prime number.
DeCSS is illegal under the DMCA. Is the prime number that defines it then also illegal? How is a number illegal, exactly? Do you have to skip it when you are counting and if you don't you get arrested under the DMCA?
Of all the arguements I've heard, this one is the most obvious to me on how broken the DMCA is. It's lunacy. I think I'm breaking the law just linking to the program.
Educating our legislators is key to all efforts. The supporters of DMCA have very effectively managed to make this all about college students downloading MP3s and bands of overseas pirates selling bootlegged DVDs.
During the last election cycle I spoke with a congressional candidate about the evils of the DMCA and his only take on it was something needed to be done about blackmarket videos. And this from someone I considered an otherwise reasonable, intelligent candidate.
Sadly, what is needed is a soundbite arguement to stick in the mind of those for whom soundbites are all that can be recalled.
Not to mention all the people who live outside the United States but are affected by this kind of crappy law...