Re: [dvd-discuss] Copyright Office to Consider Anticircumvention Exemptions

[Eric Seppanen <eds(at)reric.net>]

On Fri, Oct 11, 2002 at 10:46:46AM -0700, James S. Tyre wrote:
> 1201(a)(1)(C) requires the LoC to engage in rulemaking every three years to 
> determine whether certain classes should be exempted from the prohibition 
> of 1201(a)(1).  This is the beginning of the second rulemaking round.

Here's an exemption I'd love to see:

- any protection measure that prevents viewing by the user's location or 
region.

Or, even more aggressively:

- any protection measure that denies access based on information other 
than the user's posession of a legal copy of the work.

I think it's absolutely apalling that the DVD manufacturers are taking 
advantage of a law that, on its face, is intended to reinforce the 
*copyright* laws, in order to protect their region-coding system, that 
would otherwise have no force of law whatsoever.  This sort of "bundling" 
will only get worse in the future.

Not to say that chapter 12 shouldn't be tossed in its entirety, but hey, 
might as well fight 'em on every front, right?