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Savebetamax.org National Call-in Day
Rinisari writes "Savebetamax.org, a project of Downhill Battle, has set up a national call-in day for September 14th. They ask that on that day, each person signed up call a specific congressperson about the INDUCE act in an effort to keep a steady stream of calls all day. The "Save Betamax" nomenclature comes from the fact that the INDUCE act could reverse the decision in the 1984 Sony v. Universal case regarding Sony's Betamax VTRs and copying of copyrighted movies."
Considering what the RIAA is doing, music, movie, and other media companies shouldn't be given any privledges at all, nevermind the ability to veto technologies because they don't like them...
A chance to slashdot congress!
/. is an American, but if we can take a server down, we're very likely to get somebody in Congress's attention.
Well, just think... I know not everyone here on
This is perhaps one of the most important legal battles in this area for quite a while. If the Betamax decision is overturned, it will be an enormous setback to proponents of fair use. As for the INDUCE act? Not only is it full of ridiculously vague wording, but it boggles the mind in terms of the rights it would take away. If it passes, things could change in a big way . . . and not for the good of the people, but for the good of the big corporations backing it.
Call me crazy, but wouldn't it have been usefull to have listed the time zone the assigned time is for? You think that might come in handy for something like this.
We have to admire Betamax. It died way too young... but without what it did at the Supreme Court, VHS and DVRs might not be considered "fair use" and therefore might not have even been born.
800,000 geeks vs $800,000 (campaign donations?)
It's be great if it'd work, but it's hard to beat the money of the big corporations....The more I read the news, the more I see the big boys on the hill getting in on this....
Scary stuff it is...
My MythTV HowTo
And this, boys and girls, is why we at least read the description of the article, even if we don't RTFA. We're trying to save the right to fair use on media, not trying to save the abandoned video format.
Wouldn't it be better to spread it out over a long period of time, otherwise they will know it is an organised compaign and will just disregard the calls?
I agree; Correct me if I have a fundamental misunderstanding of how calling a politican works, but if 1,000 people call Mr./Ms. Senator in a day, whoever records these types of calls will probably end up becoming annoyed/overloaded/whatever and is likely to dismiss the high volume... If the 1,000 calls are made over, say, a few months' time, wouldn't it be more likely that each call is recorded and reported?
If Congress was actually in session, it might cause congresscritters to talk about the fact that their office phone people are getting overloaded.
Of course, annoying a congresscritter's staff is a good way to NOT get whatever you want. Staff members sometimes have the critical influence over the congresscritter they work for on technical issues they don't understand.
I hear alot of people claiming that the intent of the law is only to go after so called bad actors, and will not be used against VCR makers or computer makers. What those people forget is that in court, the intent of the law doesn't matter, only the actual wording. Anyone using the intent of the law as a defense in court will lose and possibly be laughed out of court. That means this law will be used to sue Apple, Intel, IBM, and Microsoft for making general purpose computing hardware. Even with the new wording, the EFF mock complaint against the ipod is still valid, as apple could have used "reasonable measures" such as only allowing the ipod to play DRM encoded files and have Itunes verify the CD is a pressed CD and not burned before allowing any ripping. The same applies to general purpose computers, which could have been locked down like the Xbox to only run OSes and software that use strong DRM and require checking with central servers before a document or whatever can be transfered (to prevent a user from retyping a copyrighted work like a book by hand). Keep in mind no one intended the DMCA to be used against third party printer cartriges, but it was.
Man, the US... Land of the free.
I'm not too worried, I live in Canada. It's a little better here.
Maybe Canada will have to occupy the US soon to liberate it. =P
It would be madness if Hollywood et al got their way, if only because as the article stated, Hollywood benefitted enourmously from sales of VCR.
Yes, it would be madness. But Hollywood doesn't care.
Now it is possible for them to sell read-only playback devices (such as the DVD) and if they ban all DVD-R, CD-R (+/-RW etc etc) then it won't affect their bottom line in the least. They can still profit from home videos that people can still play, but no one can record anything, except the organized criminals with their shops full of equipment... and people with legacy equipment. And once NTSC and PAL have been replaced by newer digital formats, that legacy equipment will become mostly useless. Hollywood would like nothing better.
You better stand up for your rights, or they're gonna kick you in the scrote.
Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen
Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen
While I also support our 'data rights', this is a lost cause at this point. Its over, and we have lost.
Congress does *not* give a damn about the citizens, they are only concerned about the people that line their pocketbooks ( i.e. the 'media' and other large corporations ).
The very structure of this country has changed, and the citizens are going to be mowed over.
Fight it all you want, but id rather pick battles that aren't lost already.
The 2nd revolution is long over due, before the "American experiment" fails, and its remains fall into hardcore socialism.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Maybe because the congressmen are supposed to represent the people who elected them and not the people who bribe them?
-Virt
Well, let's just say that hollywood only has tunnel vision and can't see any potential for growth beyond their current business models.
That was why they sued sony back then, they were scared shitless by the prospects of their property being stolen!
Unfortunately for them, they lost, but even then they still managed to get a new cash cow out of it. Home videos.
But with the coming of DVDs, they decided, "hey, we needed home videos no more, now that we got these new high tech media like DVDs and CDs that can only be pressed at the factory, why not we make all recording mediums illegal eh"
And if this law passes, the implications are powerful. With CDRs, DVDRs, videos, cassettes, maybe even video cameras all outlawed? Guess who are the only ones with access to recording equipment?
Just because they produce some lousy stinking movies doesn't mean they produce ALL the material in the whole wide world. What about people making home videos of little nelly celebrating her first birthday? Or can you imagine needing to procure a license from hollywood in the future just so you can make a video recording of big nelly's wedding?
No good would come out of this man.. no good at all..
Online backup with Mozy, sounds like Ozzie, but more!
Honestly, could they come up with a worse name? (Well yeah, now that I think about it, I guess they could. But still.)
The names (downhill battle, save betamax, etc.) almost sound like they're trying to turn people off to their cause--which, by the way, I agree with. Why couldn't they call it "Fair use" or "Save our constitutional rights from corporate greed!" or something.
Even "File swappers for truth" or "ShareOn.org" (both of which suck) would be better names than what they're using.
-- MarkusQ
If they all come at once, it's relatively easy to notice that there is strong support for an issue - you've been dealing with people who care about it all day.
True, if the phone calls are few and far between. If the phones are ringing off the hooks for days, then maybe the congressperson might take notice, but wouldn't a single day of calls be forgotten after weeks of relative silence? I'd think a steady stream of daily calls would be much more memorable, and much less likely leave a negative impression. Remember that the person answering the phone is probably some underpaid staff, and as another poster said, it's bad idea to piss off the congressperson's staff.
This is the attitude that allows them to think that we don't give a damn. I bet you don't even vote in the general election either.
The problem is the facts are the facts. Check out opensecrets.org, put in your Rep's name or any of the backers of the DMCA or INDUCE and look where their money comes from. Until real campaign finance reform is passed, like only voters can contribute (No PACs, unions or churches) I feel the system will never be fixed.
What can I say but "Prove me wrong!" (To quote Seymour Skinner).
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity but they've always worked for me" - HST
Its just something Ive been curious about, but how far would they go with this act? Would external hard drives become illegal? usb memory sticks? the internet itself? This legislation seems so broad, that it seems they could ban just about any device on a whim. Jesus, I gotta move.
The movie/music industry is big, but it doesn't hold a candle to the tech/consumer electronics industries in CA.
I suspect that part of the problem is that the copyright cartel controls 90+% of the 'official' information flow - television, radio, print even billboards. This puts them in a position to have a huge effect on public and private opinion, something that few other industries are able to do and the copyright cartel gets gets it effectively for free.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.