Re: Drm and digital rights management letter from my senator

From: hermes (hermes_at_messenger.net)
Date: 07/23/04 

Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 17:45:24 -0500

Greg R wrote:

>Here is a letter I received from my senator. Please, pardon the long
>post.
>
>Greg R
>
>Thank you for sharing with me your insights into the debate over
>digital copyrights and digital rights management. I understand your
>concern for protecting the freedom and privacy of individual Internet
>users.
>
>Despite passage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which
>I supported, some difficult questions remain unanswered in the debate
>over how to protect the rights of music artists and producers to
>protect their intellectual property versus the recognized right of
>consumers to make recordings for personal use. This law made it
>illegal to circumvent a technological copyright-control measure, such
>as encryption circuitry built into CD and DVD players.
>
>In the last session of Congress, several bills were introduced that
>would have enhanced protections for copyright owners, while other
>bills were introduced to enhance the rights of individuals to fair-use
>access to digital media. None of these bills were enacted. As
>expected, this debate has re-emerged in the current session of
>Congress, most recently with public attention focusing on remarks by
>Senator Hatch during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
>
>Senator Hatch was widely quoted as saying he would favor development
>of technology to disable or damage computers that are repeatedly used
>for illegal downloads of copyrighted material. This comment
>understandably created a backlash of response from computer owners who
>make use of peer-to-peer file sharing technology.
>
>Much public attention is also focusing on legislation introduced by
>Senator Wyden to require producers and distributors of copyrighted
>digital material to disclose any technical devices or codes that would
>prevent a person from copying or transferring the content. This bill,
>known as the Consumer Right to Know Act, is under consideration in the
>Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
>
>Article I of the Constitution empowers Congress "to promote the
>progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to
>authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings
>and discoveries." In the age of the Internet and digital
>communications, this has become a significant challenge.
>
>There are numerous complex facets to this issue, which I do not expect
>to be resolved soon. Fundamentally, we are trying to balance the
>intellectual property rights of creators against the economic
>imperative to let technological innovation run its course. New
>technologies emerge daily providing exciting new ways to share
>information. I am supportive of new technologies, but I do not believe
>that new technology alone should lead to the abrogation of established
>laws.
>
>It may be that the copyright laws ultimately need to be modified in
>light of new mechanisms for music distribution and new models of
>business, but further study of these issues will be required. I will
>continue to follow this carefully, and I appreciate your interest.
>
>Again, thank you for contacting me.
>
>
>
>
Great post! :) If you wouldn't mind posting it, I would love to see
the letter you sent to your senator to receive this reply. Thanks! 

--
hermes
DRM sux!  Treacherous Computing kills our virtual civil liberties!
http://protectfreedom.tripod.com/index.html
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/tcpa-faq.html
http://anti-dmca.org/
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/unintended_consequences.php
Windows XP crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams

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