On 8 Mar 2001, at 16:17, Elaine -HFB- Ashton wrote:
> DeCSS is a program with no other purpose on the planet than to steal and
> pirate someone elses property. This is not covered by free speech, rather
> some penal code somewhere that I'm sure I'd get bored reading.
A few ideas for what to do with DeCSS:
1) Play the DVD's I bought using the tools of my choice (which is
covered by my right to fair use)
2) Unlock DVD content on a DVD I bought for my own personal
sampling use.
3) Explore DVD encryption techniques for any of a variety of legitimate
academic purposes.
You will note that all of these examples fall under fair use, which is
being completely buggered by the UCITA/DCMA thugs. Fair use has
been upheld in law and in tort for some 70 years or more. Plainly, it is
my right to do what I want with something that I bought with my money,
with the proviso that I can't make money off of it as though it were my
own creation.
While I don't deal with Napster, strictly Napster doesn't infringe on
copyright, because no one on Napster was paying money that didn't go
to the copyright holder...they were paying NO money period.
This idea that the artist should make money in perpetuity for an artwork
is a fairly recent idea. Leonardo didn't get royalties for his work, nor did
Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven or any of the
classic artists. Why should Eminiem and Limp Bizkit (to name 2
names) make money forever on "The Real Slim Shady"? Why should
the MPAA gouge me for more than one DVD copy of a movie if I want
subtitling or expanded content? I already bought the disk that has all
that stuff on it. And why should the government protect a distribution
business that was all crazy over the internet when they saw their costs
drop to zero, when the self same internet drops their profit to zero?
