[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [dvd-discuss] Re: What does "availability for use" mean?



I've always loved Congresses attitude on the matter 

"The technological measures--such as
 encryption, scrambling, and electronic envelopes--that this bill
protects can be deployed, not only to prevent piracy and of the 
economically harmful unauthorized uses of copyrighted materials, but
also to support new ways of disseminating copyrighted materials to
users, and to safeguard the availability of legitimate uses of those
materials by individuals."

What new ways can encryption, scrambling POSSIBLY support except pay for view!

On 15 Dec 2002 at 15:36, Seth Finkelstein wrote:

Date sent:      	Sun, 15 Dec 2002 15:36:59 -0500
From:           	Seth Finkelstein <sethf@sethf.com>
To:             	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
Copies to:      	arromdee@rahul.net
Subject:        	[dvd-discuss] Re: What does "availability for use" mean?
Send reply to:  	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu

> 
>  Roughly, the Copyright Office is asking, is the overall effect
> of the DMCA on this "class of works", that there are more works
> available, for more use, or not? The kicker to remember is that as
> long as non-encrypted formats are available, they've tended to find
> that encrypted formats are a bonus or extra, and so the restrictions
> are beneficial.
> 
>  Search for the word "availability" in the 2000 rulemaking results
> http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/65fr64555.html
> 
> " ... the Committee was concerned that
> ``marketplace realities may someday dictate a different outcome,
> resulting in less access, rather than more, to copyrighted materials
> that are important to education, scholarship, and other socially vital
> endeavors.'' Id. at 36. Possible measures that might lead to
> such an outcome included the elimination of print or other hard-copy
> versions, permanent encryption of all electronic copies and adoption of
> business models that restrict distribution and availability of works.
> The Committee concluded that ``[i]n this scenario, it could be
> appropriate to modify the flat prohibition against the circumvention of
> effective technological measures that control access to copyrighted
> materials, in order to ensure that access for lawful purposes is not
> unjustifiably diminished.'' Id.
>     In order to address such possible developments, the Commerce
> Committee proposed a modification of section 1201 which it
> characterized as a `` `fail-safe' mechanism.'' Id. As the Committee
> Report describes it, ``This mechanism would monitor developments in the
> marketplace for copyrighted materials, and allow the enforceability of
> the prohibition against the act of circumvention to be selectively
> waived, for limited time periods, if necessary to prevent a diminution
> in the availability to individual users of a particular category of
>        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> copyrighted materials.''
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> 
>  Later:
> 
>     In assessing the impact of the implementation of technological
> measures, and of the law against their circumvention, the rule-
> making proceedings should consider the positive as well as the
> adverse effects of these technologies on the availability of
>         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> copyrighted materials. The technological measures--such as
> encryption, scrambling, and electronic envelopes--that this bill
> protects can be deployed, not only to prevent piracy and other
> economically harmful unauthorized uses of copyrighted materials, but
> also to support new ways of disseminating copyrighted materials to
> users, and to safeguard the availability of legitimate uses of those
> materials by individuals.
> 
> House Manager's Report, at 6.
>     Another mitigating factor may arise when a work as to which the
> copyright owner has instituted a technological control is also
> available in formats that are not subject to technological protections.
> For example, a work may be available in electronic format only in
> encrypted form, but may also be available in traditional hard copy
> format which has no such technological restrictions on access. The
> availability without restriction in the latter format may alleviate any
> adverse effect that would otherwise result from the technological
> controls utilized in the electronic format. The availability of works
> in such other formats is to be considered when exemptions are
> fashioned. Id. at 7.
> 
> -- 
> Seth Finkelstein  Consulting Programmer  sethf@sethf.com  http://sethf.com
> Anticensorware Investigations - http://sethf.com/anticensorware/
> Seth Finkelstein's Infothought blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/
> List sub/unsub: http://sethf.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/infothought