Post Tagged with: "30 days of drm"

30 Days of DRM – Day 17: Broken or Obsolete Technology (Circumvention Rights)

The inclusion of a right to circumvent in the event that the TPM breaks or becomes obsolete is relatively uncontroversial.  The U.S. Registrar of Copyrights has included a specific exception for this situation since 2000 and the Australian Parliamentary Review Committee recommended the inclusion of such an exception this year.  The exception reflects the recognition that the continual evolution of technology places the investment that consumers make in entertainment and software products at risk in the event that a TPM ceases to function or becomes obsolete.  While products do not come with a guarantee to function forever, the law should not impair consumers who seek to circumvent techologies that are no longer supported and thus create a significant barrier to access to their own property.

The current DVD market provides a good illustration of the potential problem.

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September 4, 2006 8 comments News

30 Days of DRM – Day 16: System Repair (Circumvention Rights)

With news this week of a Canadian settlement of the Sony rootkit case, it is worth revisiting the admonishment that case elicited from Stewart Baker, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary of policy.  As noted earlier this series, Baker reminded the recording industry that "it's very important to […]

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September 3, 2006 3 comments News

30 Days of DRM – Day 15: Artistic Access (Circumvention Rights)

The copyright lobby frequently characterizes the use of DRM and anti-circumvention legislation as benefiting creators.  Contrary to the rhetoric, however, a growing number of creators actively oppose DRM and the prospect of anti-circumvention legislation.  The Canadian Music Creators Coalition justifiably generated enormous attention last spring when dozens of Canada's leading musicians came together to form a new coalition opposed to suing fans, using DRM, or establishing anti-circumvention legislation.  The Appropriation Art coalition, launched soon afterward, may have less noteriety but they combine to form a powerful voice.  Consisting of more than 600 artists, curators, directors, educators, writers, associations and organizations from the art sector, the coalition features artists that have collectively won dozens of major awards including eight Governor General Awards in Visual and Media Arts. 

Despite these credentials, the group incredibly received little more than a form letter from Bev Oda, the Minister of Canadian Heritage.  Perhaps that is because the Appropriation Arts coalition tells a much different story from the copyright lobby.

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September 2, 2006 2 comments News

30 Days of DRM – Day 14: Private Copying (Circumvention Rights)

Several postings have noted that Bill C-60, the last failed attempt at copyright reform, sought to link anti-circumvention with copyright infringement by only making it an infringement to circumvent for the purposes of copyright infringement (thereby preserving user rights such as fair dealing).  There was a notable exception, however – private copying.  By excluding private copying, the bill made it an offence to circumvent a TPM (such as a copy-control on a CD) even if the purpose of the circumvention was to make a private copy.  The rationale behind the exclusion was that the private copying system is designed to be compensatory, with the rate reflecting the amount of copying that is actually occurring in the marketplace.  Supporters of the private copying exclusion argue that if copy-controls become pervasive, the amount of private copying will decline and so will the private copying levy.

This is pure fiction.

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September 1, 2006 1 comment News

30 Days of DRM – Day 13: Criticism, Review and News Reporting (Circumvention Rights)

Yesterday's posting covered the research and private study side of fair dealing. The other major component of the fair dealing user right is contained at Sections 29.1 and 29.2 of the Copyright Act, covering criticism, review, and news reporting.  Both sections permit fair dealing in a work for those purposes provided that the source is identified.  These user rights are equally an integral part of the Copyright Act and should not be unduly constrained. 

Indeed, with the emergence of citizen journalism and user generated content, these rights have assumed even greater importance.

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August 31, 2006 3 comments News