It may be 'good-bye' to 'fair-use'

[Shrapnel]

Read this
here

'Killer DMCA' to mandate digital-rights compliant hardware
By Thomas C Greene in Washington
Posted: 10/09/2001 at 14:03 GMT

The bad news couldn't be clearer: "It is unlawful to manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide or otherwise traffic in any interactive digital device that does not include and utilize certified [DRM] security technologies."

So begins the draft of a bill obediently proposed by US Senators Fritz Hollings (Democrat, South Carolina) and Ted Stevens (Republican, Alaska) on behalf of their entertainment and software industry patrons. The draft was first published by Wired News Chief Washington Correspondent Declan McCullagh, and is available in part on his Politech Web site here, along with related materials.

The proposed bill, called the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA), would mean that DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology must be incorporated into every single gizmo in your house, car, knapsack and office. Into your hard drive (CPRM, anyone?); into your CD-ROM drive; into your DVD player; into your DiskMan; into your television, and so on ad nauseum.

It would close all the irritating little loopholes in the DMCA right around the necks of consumers, where, the industry reckons, the pressure rightly belongs.

Only one puny exception is made to permit the recording of broadcasts for time-shifting. Gone will be your (currently sketchy) right to make archival copies of digital works in the same or different formats.

Conveniently, and by design, the words "fair use" appear nowhere in the draft. The industry lobbyists never liked that troublesome phrase in the DMCA, so now it's gone.

Another glaring omission is any assurance that DRM-enabled media must be backward compatible with older hardware legally purchased; or that new, compliant hardware must be backward compatible with older digital media legally purchased.

One assumes that the threat of boycotts and mass violence would keep our venerable software and media giants from temptation along these lines, but there is no technological barrier to rendering new hardware incapable of playing, say, an older CD with no DRM features, or to rendering new, DRM-enabled media unplayable on older hardware. In that case, buy one and you've got to replace the other -- and surely, it's only a matter of time before you'll be buying one.

Might these two Senate lap-dogs really be prepared to accommodate such consumer extortion? We hope not, but the answer is, yes, they may well. This is because the bill offers an incredible tidbit: an antitrust exemption.

"When the Secretary finds that it is required by the public interest, the Secretary shall exempt a person participating in a meeting or discussion described in subsection (a) from the antitrust laws to the extent necessary to allow the person to proceed with the activities approved in the order."

It's limited, sure; but how far could the industry stretch it? Given its vast legions of shysters and lobbyists, pretty far, we'd say. Any successful future antitrust action would of course rely in part on the initial horse-trading sessions. These would be placed conveniently beyond the reach of Justice.

If the act were passed, the entertainment and software industries would be given twelve months in which to agree on broad DRM standards acceptable to the Commerce Department, or see the government do it for them. If they fail to reach agreement, NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) and the US Copyright office would make the call for them -- and you. ®

[Freakapotimus]

I'm a tad confused... does this mean that I wouldn't be allowed to make mp3 copies from CDs that I myself had legally purchased? Would I be allowed to send mp3 or wav files or songs I'd created myself?

[Shrapnel]

At 9/12/01 10:30 AM, Freakapotimus wrote: I'm a tad confused... does this mean that I wouldn't be allowed to make mp3 copies from CDs that I myself had legally purchased? Would I be allowed to send mp3 or wav files or songs I'd created myself?

No- from what it sounds like, you can't buy a CD and make mp3 copies of it.
Right now, the fair use law protects us.

I think it would be illegal for you to even use songs for flash cartoons.

You know with this terrorism stuff, by the time the dust settles, free rights will be severely impinged in the interests of security and all these bills will be passed under our noses.

[Freakapotimus]

At 9/12/01 06:11 PM, Shrapnel wrote: No- from what it sounds like, you can't buy a CD and make mp3 copies of it.
Right now, the fair use law protects us.

Well now that just sucks major ass! What the hell did I spend the money on an MP3 CD player then? Ugh...

I think it would be illegal for you to even use songs for flash cartoons.

Bah...

You know with this terrorism stuff, by the time the dust settles, free rights will be severely impinged in the interests of security and all these bills will be passed under our noses.

The world is going to sux0r.

[Shrapnel]

At 9/12/01 07:26 PM, Freakapotimus wrote:

At 9/12/01 06:11 PM, Shrapnel wrote: No- from what it sounds like, you can't buy a CD and make mp3 copies of it.
Right now, the fair use law protects us.

Well now that just sucks major ass! What the hell did I spend the money on an MP3 CD player then? Ugh...

Well if it does pass, new devices would have to incorporate some sort of copyright protection mechanism... your mp3 CD player should be fine unless someone decided to sue you I suppose.

You know with this terrorism stuff, by the time the dust settles, free rights will be severely impinged in the interests of security and all these bills will be passed under our noses.

The world is going to sux0r.

They're talking about eliminating encryption techniques now because that's how terrorists could communicate....

A lot of shit is going to be going down in the next couple months.....