Vincent Meyer wrote:
> Actually, in the US you ARE allowed to make personal copies of your
> CD's and tapes under rules which were adopted in the (I think - not
> totally sure of the date) early 1980's. This is considered "fair use", as
> is copying for research, academic reasons, etc. Unfortunately it no
> longer applies if the media is encripted. Hopefully that law will eventually
> get overturned.
Vincent,
Thanks! I had never looked at it in quite this way:
Somebody (the courts?) gave us the right to make personal copies in the
1980's, but the DCMA took that right away if the original is encrypted.
I guess that's the way the system is allowed to work -- you can pass a
law that the courts overturn, if the courts overturn something, you can
pass a new law, so it's within the rules of the system, but I hadn't
thought about it in terms of a right we had that the DCMA took away.
I wonder how many other people think of it this way?
I'd sure like to make it my personal philosophy to never buy something
like a CD or DVD with "artistic" content that I can't back up, meaning
anything that's encrypted. Hmm -- how about watermarked? Well, I guess
the question will be can I make an archival copy for myself with no loss
in fidelity?
Of course, this musing is sort of mute -- we probably won't know when
CDs and DVDs incorporate watermarks, at least. Aren't they already
distributing some in California -- didn't they already distribute some
in Germany (which may have been called back because they didn't work on
all existing CD players)?
Randy Kramer
