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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.
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.
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.
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
800,000 geeks vs $800,000 (campaign donations?)
It'd 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....
Ask any politician which he would prefer: 1000 voters going to the polls, or $10,000 (extra '0'.) You'd be hard pressed to find one that would take the money. Interest groups for corporations hold power, but there aren't 1000 Jack Valenti's in each and every district to vote for Congressman X.
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 ----
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
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.