Who Will Obama Choose As Copyright Czar?

seanpark writes "Who will President Elect Obama select for the recently established post of Copyright Czar? Biden has a longstanding relationship with Big Content, and he was partly responsible for the PRO-IP Act that created the position. The short list according to the article includes a few lobbyists (who would likely be disqualified by stringent ethical guidelines) and Lawrence Lessig, who was a technology adviser to the Obama Campaign."

Comments

Not the good professor

[symbolset]

He's a wise choice, a rational voice is a sea of stupidity. Picking him would represent a striking change, a sudden outbreak of common sense.

Therefore it ain't gonna happen.

Re:Not the good professor

[symbolset]

erg... "in a sea". Catlike typing detected.

MOTD: I am looking for a honest man. -- Diogenes the Cynic

Re:Not the good professor

[yetijoe]

I feel you have a point. But I feel the first question we need to ask is will this position have any real power. Because if there is no real power then who care who is picked.

I see it going down one of two ways. 1. Obama is able to use the capital that he has gained an push this through rather quickly and having congress act as a rubber stamp.

2. There are bigger priorities than this in the Obama administration (economy, war). As a result this is placed on the back burner. Corporate interests therefore have more time to react and press members of congress to vote against making a copyright czar have any real power. As a result this initiative dies or must be used as a bargaining chip once things get harder to push through congress.

I think we should not be asking who he will chose yet, but rather how large of a priority is he going to make this.

Re:Not the good professor

[master5o1]

Come on, be reasonable: Budget of $30, curfew of 10pm.

Re:Not the good professor

[spazdor]

Zombie Jack Valenti is only mildly decomposed by now. I say we use him.

Re:Not the good professor

[Darundal]

IIRC, you have it in reverse: the entertainment industry wants a strong copyright czar.

Re:Not the good professor

[HTH NE1]

IIRC, you have it in reverse: the entertainment industry wants a strong copyright czar.

Strong when in their interests, not against them.

"You should never hand someone a gun unless you're sure where they'll point it. Your mistake." -- Cmdr. Jeffrey Sinclair; Babylon 5: "By Any Means Necessary"

Re:Not the good professor

[Malekin]

He's a wise choice, a rational voice is a sea of stupidity.

Lessig is a very moderate voice. While he generally opposes copyright term extension, he supports DRM. He feels that people who say copyright law is utterly broken are extremist. He seems to think that the current scope of fair use provisions is adequate and just needs to be better respected. He feels that "something like the DMCA that protects adequate space for fair use and doesn't attempt to regulate technology directly is needed." (http://lwn.net/2001/features/LawrenceLessig.php3)

I have a lot of respect for the man but you can't meet the extremism of Big Media with moderates willing to compromise. The DMCA should be dumped and language written into the law the specifically protects reverse engineering. Fair use provisions should be expanded to reflect that way we use media in our lives and to provide better protection for educational use.

We don't need a moderate - we need somebody who will make dramatic changes to re-align the law with common sense.

Re:Not the good professor

[spazdor]

"Mr. Valenti, what would you say is the most valuable class of intellectual property under your purview?"
"BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS"

Re:Not the good professor

[squiggleslash]

How is appointing a lunatic with an opposite bent to Hollywood's going to result in the law being re-aligned with common sense?

What you're proposing will result in no reform whatsoever. It'll result in gridlock, with the current law, warts and all, continuing to rule the land unchanged and unchangeable.

What's needed is a moderate voice. Just because Lessig isn't a lunatic doesn't mean he's going to somehow compromise with lunatics on the other side. It means he'll be a respected voice that can shout down the extremists on the Hollywood end and propose reforms that will be taken seriously.

Re:Not the good professor

[sumdumass]

It won't matter, the DMCA and all copyright laws in the last century or so are represented by international treaties and in order to change them drastically, you will have to change the treaties or withdraw from them. The copyright extensions for instance, they were part of the signing onto and coming into conformance to the Berne Convention, and then later, the Uruguay round table agreements that resulted in the EU's harmonization directive. I know people want to blame Disney and the entertainment business because they actually supported the changes too, but the reality is that we will either have to change the minds of the entire world or pull our of treaties that like it or not, protect our interests in other nations as well as bring us content from those countries.

I say this not to start and argument that always seems to come where someone can't believe that I neglected to look at their foe of the day but to actually make sure people know what they are up against. It isn't just a matter of changing the laws, it's a bigger matter then that and there will be no change until that is addressed. So if change seems to be what someone is after, then they need to address the points that can be changed in order to get the change they want. Otherwise they are blaming the dealership for the color of the car when the factory does the paint job.

Re:Not the good professor

[Malekin]

When somebody is taking away important rights like the right to tinker or freely archive important pieces of information, the correct response is not "How about we compromise and you only take half my rights away?"

Re:Not the good professor

[adavies42]

[Y]ou can't meet the extremism of Big Media with moderates willing to compromise. [...] We don't need a moderate - we need somebody who will make dramatic changes [...] .

Sounds like another vote for RMS to me.

Re:Not the good professor

[Requiem18th]

Gridlock is preferred over movement in the wrong direction.
  But why does (s)he have to be a lunatic? Does believing in freedom of information means you have to be dumb and eccentric?
  A mathematician recently showed a formula to determine optimal copyright terms and it resulted in about 14 years for most situations. And there have been numerous studies that show DRM is not worth it (so much that some corporations are stepping out of it on their own).
  I think it is very possible to be very rational and still in pro of reducing the scope and length of copyrights, in fact it seems inevitable so.

Re:Not the good professor

[hairyfeet]

Uuuuh, you DO know that copyrights are now at 160+ years(Canada) or 170+ years(USA) thanks to those in the copyright "industry" right? I think most would safely say they left reasonable a few miles back there on the highway bud. I think have already moved past obscene and into eternal copyrights from hell myself.

Re:Not the good professor

[sumdumass]

Lol..Copyright is in the US is life plus 70 years. In order to be 170 years, everyone with a copyright would have to live to 100 years of age and produce the copyrighted works within the first year of their life. In the case of works for hire, it is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shortest.

Canada, I havn't checked in a while but last I heard, they were the life of the author plus 50 years (the original Berne convention requirements). Canada has not become a member of the Uruguay round table agreement that was a response to the EU's directive on harmonization which is why the extra 20 years aren't there. That would mean a Canadian would have to live to 110 years of age and produce all their work within the first year of life.

Perhaps the reasonableness would be looked on differently if you actually had a grasp of what was going on. Lets say a person in his 40's created a copyrighted work, He dies of natural causes when 70 years old, his copyright will have an effective duration of 100 years total in the US and 80 years total in Canada. And you can thank Europe for these lengths that were in place since only 100 years from the beginning of the US (life plus 50 for the Berne convention since 1886).

Re:Not the good professor

[jonaskoelker]

we need somebody who will make dramatic changes to re-align the law with common sense.

What's common sense, here?

I think the common-sense thing to do is to repeal and enact a set of laws that will be of maximum benefit to the American People, based on the best available evidence and well-tested economic models.

Basing judgments on evidence and theoretical understanding is how we do software, medicine, aviation and construction, to name a few. I think evidence should play a role in governance as well.

I don't have any hard evidence to back up any particular position. You didn't present any---do you have any?

I have a bit of soft evidence: people have been copying music whenever they had the technology to do it. Back in the old days, it was cassettes. Then it was CDs, and now it's mp3s copied over the internet. The only thing that's changed is that we've all gotten a few billion more friends to copy from.

Dragnet litigation and copyright propaganda video before every movie doesn't seem to have changed peoples' inclination to copy media. No DRM scheme has seemed to be effective in stopping people who really want to copy media.

I suggest that (as an experimental policy) it becomes permitted to do verbatim copying of all copyrighted works for non-commercial purposes.

If big chunks of the "copyright industries" die off and people have a shortage of music on the radio, in the tube and in the tubes, and the shortage persists over a long time as people try out new business models, then this would be evidence that copying is bad when we just let people do it.

If people are happy about the amount and quality of new music coming out and the price of concert tickets in the new model, then that's evidence that we as a society will pay musicians enough money to make them satisfy society's needs while still doing the sharing and copying we want.

Re:Not the good professor

[sumdumass]

Well, that's sort of my point. This isn't just the US doing things because Evil Disney wanted them to. It is the US agreeing to do certain things because of obligations and if anyone expected anything to change, they have to understand those controlling connections. Instead of telling your elected officials that you don't want more copyright regs you need to tell them to no accept it in the ACTA treaties and stuff like that when it comes up because he might be obligated to passing something if he passes the treaties. If you want to repeal the two copyright term extensions, you need to get two treaties either amended or convince the US to withdraw from them. Simply saying quit serving Disney's or big businesses' interest over yours isn't enough because being obligate to doing something beause of a treaty doesn't make big businesses' interest the forefront of the topic.

Re:Not the good professor

[mcvos]

How is appointing a lunatic with an opposite bent to Hollywood's going to result in the law being re-aligned with common sense?

Exactly. If you only have lunatics on either side, what you end up with is bound to be lunacy. What we need is lunatics on both sides who shout extremist positions at each other and a pragmatic moderate in the middle who ignores them both equally.

Re:Not the good professor

[ScrewMaster]

But I feel the first question we need to ask is will this position have any real power.

There's power, and there's power. Whether or not such a person has an real legal authority is an issue, of course, but no matter what they will have influence. They will also have far more of the public's ear than ten million Slashdotters ever could. The right person (and that's the real trick) in this slot could do much to put copyright back on track. I'm not sure who that person would be. Lessig is an excellent choice, looking at his credentials and his stance on the issues. Whether he's the right person from the PR/political perspective I wouldn't know.

Re:Not the good professor

[sesshomaru]

Actually, based on some of the other picks (Larry Summers, Hillary Clinton), I'm going to guess it'll be Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movie.

He had the good sense...

[alexborges]

Of having lessig on his team. Lets hope he still has that now that he is heading to The House.

Lessig would be fine

[Ralph Spoilsport]

We need a countervailing force against the minions of IP evil like the MAFIAA and the rest of them.

However, I don't know where he would actually do more good - inside the administration which is already compromised with appointments like Rahm Emanuel - or outside fighting the good fight. As a consequence, I'm not certain he would take such a position if asked.

It's quite possible, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

RS

Re:Lessig would be fine

[iluvcapra]

Parent is not a troll. I don't agree that the administration is "compromised" by any of the appointments so far, but it's clear there are things you can do inside and things you can do outside, and there's no guarantee LL's skillset will work on the former.

On the other hand, there's all kinds of jobs the preznit can ask you to do, some policy-administrative-do stuff, like Secretary of Commerce, and some strictly advisory, like the the job Paul Volker got yesterday. In theory, you put "safe" people no one can complain about in the "do stuff" jobs, but you put the hair-burning crazies on the advisory boards to give you perspective. Lessig would be able contribute greatly leading an outside policy board.

Re:Lessig would be fine

[Triv]

True, working inside an organizational system is different than working outside of one, and like you I don't know if Lessig is an inside player.

But let's be realistic, here - all I want, all I think anybody really wants, is a copyright adviser who actually understands the different facets of copyright and hasn't spent the last decade or more working for Sony/BMG, Disney, or some other obvious media conglomerate.

If this were still the Bush administration we were talking about here, I know the choice would be somebody with big business connections and an agenda; I have more faith in Obama to choose somebody with university connections a fucking brain.

Hey Barack!

[MillionthMonkey]

I recommend Shawn Fanning.

Re:Hey Barack!

[moranar]

Nah. Jon Lech Johansen.

It does not matter to me

[bogaboga]

Well, I do not care who he chooses as long as the chosen fella does not propagate policies that get in my way. I frequently download all kinds of stuff in all categories. Emule and Bittorent are my friends.

I just wish I could be a "steam roller" like that [infamous] former New York state top official, even if it can be for a while.

Our new Copyright Czar

[Archiviste]

... I heard that Darl McBride is looking for a new job...

Re:Our new Copyright Czar

[ScrewMaster]

Was it absolutely necessary for you to make me spit coffee all over my keyboard!? Asshole!

I learned years ago not to read Slashdot with coffee up my nose.

Lessig would be a good choice

[mysidia]

As copyright czar he may be in a position to push for certain changes to rules to introduce some sanity. And give the consumer some protections as well as big recording industry players' freedoms.

The president and his staff may be more likely to listen to the ideas of a copyright czar than to some Stanford professor.

Here's an idea: NO ONE

[LynnwoodRooster]

Seriously, the LAST thing needed is another "somethingorother czar" to supposedly solve problems. What powers will this czar have, other than being the President's lobbyist to Congress to push their own agenda?

Re:Here's an idea: NO ONE

[iluvcapra]

What powers will this czar have, other than being the President's lobbyist to Congress to push their own agenda?

Isn't that enough? On the other hand, czars are important for bureaucratic rationalization: drug policy requires a lot of cooperation between federal law enforcement, state/local law enforcement, the medical system, foreign interdiction efforts etc. (assuming you accept drug control policy is rational, which it isn't. I think the idea of the drug tsar gives tsars a bad name. Aside from the original tsars, that is.)

The main problem with interdepartmental plenipotentiaries, or "Tsars" if you will, is they don't really have any authority: they're supposed to be the expert in the field and know more about how to do the job than anyone, but they're beholden to the existing baize cloth routine and can't make people do anything without the president's personal intervention. Even if Larry Lessig was a "Copyright Tsar," all he could do is talk shop with Obama about what should happen and then testify to congress a lot. He might have a voice in the appointment of FCC commissioners, and in copyright office policies, but he can always be overruled by a law.

I think it's between these 3 guys

[syousef]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_the_Great

http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b2ivanIV.htm

I vote for Peter the Great. His painting looks friendly and we all know how important image is in a copyright Czar.

Lessig Too Sane a Choice

[Blue Stone]

Lessig becomes copyright Czsar.

The 'industry' (parasitic, development-repelling middle-men) howl and tear at their hair and eyes. They take to the streets, shirtless, throwing themselves to the tarmac, flailing themselves with mic stands. With raised arms and tear soaked faces they cry for Moolah's mercy.

Obama is taken in by their deceit, takes pity on them, shelves Lessig and appoints their preferred Cszar; the zombie Jack Valenti.

NYCL

[ubercam]

I, despite not being American (but I do live nearby), nominate Ray Beckerman (NewYorkCountryLawyer). He seems to have lots of relevant experience in this field.

Any seconds?

Re:NYCL

[Anpheus]

I wouldn't want to remove him from his current practice when there aren't many others like him.

Chewing a Lemon

[monkeythug]

I would absolute *love* it if Lessig gets the post.

I can see the faces on the RIAA/MPAA moguls now after they went to all that effort to convince congress to create that post, only to have it backfire on them so badly :-)

Oh, I would laugh so hard ...

RMS

[perlhacker14]

Wouldn't it be apallingly hilarious if RMS was consulted or even appointed? Come on, RMS for Copyright Czar- defender of our freedoms. Seriously though, he does have some good ideas on reform, as seen at (stallman.org).

Re:RMS

[jonbryce]

I'm not so sure about RMS. Yes, I agree with most of what he says, but not how he says it, and he comes across as a nutter to the non-techie public, and most of the techie community as well.

Besides we'll have him refusing to read emails that are sent from an insufficiently free *GNU*/Linux distribution.

Hollywood Obama supporters

[Comboman]

Considering all the actors, musicians, etc. that supported Obama (and contributed to his fund raising efforts), don't expect any positive changes to copyright law under his administration. If anything, Democrats are even more protective of Big Content than the Repulicans (remember; the Copyright Term Extension act and the DCMA came during the Clinton administration).

That's Whom

[El Puerco Loco]

Whom, goddammit! Whom will Obama choose?

Re:Cory Doctorow, the only man we could trust.

[bgalbrecht]

I doubt Obama would ever appoint a Canadian citizen to be the US copyright czar.

Re:Cory Doctorow, the only man we could trust.

[Malekin]

So he can "unpublish" those he disagrees with and use the office to endlessly pimp his books? No thanks.

Re:Islam is civilized.

[Hognoxious]

Alexander the Great hired millions of muslims to fight wars on his behalf.

I'd heard he had some interesting theories on topology, but I never knew he was capable of time travel.

But why did he stop in the dark ages? Why not go further forward and get longbowmen, muskets or even tanks?

Re:$10 Says Obama Picks a Fucking Jew

[Hognoxious]

Oy vey, times are hard already!