RE: [dvd-discuss] Postage Meters and the "Right to Tinker"

["Richard Hartman" <hartman(at)onetouch.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Zulauf [mailto:johnzu@ia.nsc.com]
...
> Sham Gardner wrote:
> > 
> > On Fri, Jan 10, 2003 at 01:42:46PM -0700, John Zulauf wrote:
> > > > They have no right to determine the personal use that I 
> make of it.
> > >
> > > Actually they do.  I just depends on whether your 
> personal use infringes
> > > their copyrights, or constitutes fair use.  It doesn't 
> matter that the
> > > work is in a digital medium.  If there were some way to 
> infringe the
> > > copyrights of a paper and ink book through personal use, 
> restricting
> > > those things would be their right as well.
> > 
> > How exactly is installing the program different to reading 
> a book in this
> > regard?
> 
> One doesn't copy a book onto the hard drive to read it (typically).

One does if it's .PDF or .LIT . . .

So ... if RandomHouse sends me an unsolicited CD 
full of _protected_ .PDF ebooks, am I within my 
rights to  make use of the Russion un-protection 
program to read them, or do you maintain that 
I have to buy a key from them to legitimately access
my gift?  

> 
> Going around a security measure certainly is not "ordinary use" in any
> case.  

... including the case of DeCSS ...




-- 
-Richard M. Hartman
hartman@onetouch.com

186,000 mi/sec: not just a good idea, it's the LAW!