Re: [dvd-discuss] Geeks in government: A good idea?

[microlenz(at)earthlink.net]

On 16 Aug 2002 at 21:56, Tom wrote:

Date sent:      	Fri, 16 Aug 2002 21:56:18 +0200
From:           	Tom <tom@lemuria.org>
To:             	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
Subject:        	Re: [dvd-discuss] Geeks in government: A good idea?
Send reply to:  	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu

> On Fri, Aug 16, 2002 at 12:24:47PM -0700, Ken Arromdee wrote:
> > The inability to manufacture such players in Europe is a consequence of the
> > laws in the US--companies who need the license to enter the US market are
> > forced to conform in Europe.  It's still an effect of the law, even if it's a
> > little indirect.
> 
> Very indirect. What's forcing them is the license, not the law. I see
> your point, but I believe the licensing and cross-licensing system is
> more powerful than the DMCA in this respect.

And this is another reason the MPAA chose Eric Corley as a target. If everybody 
can write programs to play DVDs on their computers without impunity, the whole 
DVDCCA and CSS and all that goes down the tubes (where it belongs IMHO). It 
threatened their control. So now they have created enough fear that "where is 
the LINUX GNU,GPL or shareware Windows players?

> 
> 
> > There are also patent problems with making unlicensed DVD players, IIRC,
> > but patent laws are laws too.
> 
> I agree. I didn't say law has no effect at all. Of course we're all
> happy that there are laws against burglary. What I'm saying is that
> there are still burglars anyway. There are comparable number of drug
> users no matter how harsh the anti-drug legislation. And people will
> still read books even after the MPAA gets them outlawed in their 2009
> "reading kills movies" campaign.
> 
> My translation of Declans argument is that burglar alarms and advances
> in lock technology have a stronger impact on burglaries than new laws
> could ever have. New drugs (e.g. ecstacy) will change drug consumption
> more than new laws. And writing code will do more to ensure the freedom
> of information than lobbying politicians that are already so deep in
> other people's pockets that they can barely see out.
> 
> Neither lobbying nor laws are entirely without effect. However, they
> are ineffective ways of reaching geeky goals compared to writing code.
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
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> pub  1024D/2D7A04F5 2002-05-16 Tom Vogt <tom@lemuria.org>
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