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UCITA By the Back Door
InfoWorld's Gripelog airs a subject that should interest this community — involved as we were with efforts against UCITA back in the day. One main aim of the derailed UCITA initiative was to give software manufacturers and content owners a degree of control over users' computers. Gripelog's Ed Foster informs us that UCITA is sneaking back in, under the cover of an anti-spyware bill, S. 1625, now making its way through the US Senate. One clause in this draft bill would legalize what the BSA calls "electronic self help" — i.e., the ability for commercial entities to cripple or disable software or networks on your computer if they believe you are violating their property rights.
By writing themselves into the law as "above the law", I no longer feel particularly feel any moral obligation to obey the law. The only principle that guides my behavior now when it comes to dealing with the RIAA/MPAA is "don't get caught".
Congratulations, you people just created another pirate.
Done with slashdot, done with nerds, getting a life.
I would be open to this if the legislation placed control of whether software on a privately owned computer should be disabled in the hands of a court rather than in the hands of the software vendor. The problem with this legislation, and all DRM, is that it hands much too much control over to the vendor, which is a conflict of interest. Governments exist to protect property rights, not private corporations or individuals.
I haven't read this legislation. But UCITA most certainly did not do that; it placed control completely in the hands of the software vendor (copyright holder). I think this type of DRM could fly with a real adjudication process that's fair and fully public.
I wonder, can this be used to monitor GPL violations?
Just curious. Would this mean that software companies would have to make different versions of their software for the Canadian market? Since the bill only applies to the spying on and infringing of the rights of Americans. I would assume that these sorts shenanigans would be fairly illegal here in Canada because of our privacy laws.
If worse comes to worse you could start buying your software from Canada, or it might be as easy as ticking Canada as your country during the installation process...
I have nothing compelling to say
Had that problem with AutoDesk a while back. One of our remote sites wanted to transfer an AutoCAD licence from one PC to another and decided the way to do this was without informing the IT Department.
Uninstalled it from PC #1, installed it on PC #2 and got stuck trying to "activate" it. The portable licence transfer utility got removed in the process, so we couldn't do the licence transfer ourselves. Email AutoDesk and not only would they not help us out, they demanded we give them proof of purchase for all our copies of AutoCAD otherwise they'd subject us to a software audit.
In the end we complied, gave them proof of purchase for all our AutoDesk software along with scans of the boxes (they list the serial number on the top) and we eventually got the required key out of them to activate the product on the new PC.
But this goes to show that the companies will do anything they can to extort the users of their software
For quite enlightened reasons (and the more cynical would say selfish ones too), courts tend not to favor resolutions that encourage self-help. Courts are not going to interpret the phrase "detection or prevention of the unauthorized use of software fraudulent or other illegal activities" to allow for deprivations of or interference with the enjoyment of personal property without due process. This law can't be interpreted in any manner to set up a due process satisfying procedure, so it's pretty much unconstitutional if interpreted to allow remote disabling or (suspected) pirated property.
But that's the thing. The vendors do not consider said software your personal property. They consider it to be their property that you have a license to use and they would no doubt argue that all the way to the SCOTUS.
Bad PR used to be bad for companies when people actually cared about anything but their wallet. It's not really a problem anymore.
Remember Sony? The guys with the rootkit? And? PS3s sell well, BluRay won the HD war and they're having a record high in profits.
Oh, you mean not enough media coverage, it was a far too geeky topic? Ok, another example: Nokia in Germany. In a nutshell, they cashed in the bribe, fulfilled just the necessary contract and then laid off their workers and moved to Rumania. Now THAT had media coverage! A national outcry, politicians trashing their Nokia cells in front of cameras and calling people to do just the same to "stick it to them"...
Nokia recovered instantly from the week long "boycott". Hey, you get one of those cells free with your next 2 year contract, how can you lose?
People have the long term memory of a gold fish and their eyes on their wallets.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.