CATO Institute Releases Paper Criticizing DMCA

flanksteak writes "The CATO institute has published a paper criticizing the DMCA entitled 'The Perverse Consequences of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.' From the article: 'The DMCA is anti-competitive. It gives copyright holders--and the technology companies that distribute their content--the legal power to create closed technology platforms and exclude competitors from interoperating with them. Worst of all, DRM technologies are clumsy and ineffective; they inconvenience legitimate users but do little to stop pirates.'" A report worth taking a look at that puts into words what most of us know already.

Comments

Re:Pirates

[MrShaggy]

What is it called when someone is sharing something that is copyrighted ?

The good thing about the DMCA is that it helps people protect thier image. If you discovered that a friends image was being used for promoting porn sites, they would want to have somethig there to help them.

As far as other companies 'stifling innovation', Lexmark was told that the DMCA wouldnt apply to them. They were going after 3rd party inkers.

I think that its important for there to be a level playing field. No matter what kind of law exists, someone wont like it.

WHy is it ok for the opensource people to take companies to court over GPL violations, when other companies go after you, for violating thier terms?