Cyberia
6th May 2005, 19:43
I don't usually do this, but this bill has everything to do with what we do here at Doom9's site. I wanted to make everyone aware of it. Hopefully, people here will click the EFF link at the bottom of the article and fill out the form to let your congressperson know where you stand.
Cyberia
Quoted from EFF Newsletter, May 5, 2005
Support DMCA Reform - Help Pass HR 1201!
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has been wreaking havoc on consumers' fair use rights for the past seven years. Now Congress is considering the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, HR 1201), a bill that would reform part of the DMCA and formally protect the "Betamax defense" relied on by so many innovators.
HR 1201 would give citizens the right to circumvent copy-protection measures as long as what they're doing is otherwise legal. For example, it would make sure that when you buy a CD, whether it is copy-protected or not, you can record it onto your computer and move the songs to an MP3 player. It would also protect a computer science professor who needs to bypass copy-protection to evaluate encryption technology.
In addition, the bill would codify the Betamax defense, which has been under attack by the entertainment industry through the "Induce Act" last year and the MGM v. Grokster case currently before the Supreme Court. This kind of sanity would be a welcome change to our copyright law.
Last year we sent 30,000+ letters of support for the DMCRA, and the bill got a hearing on Capitol Hill. It's time to double that number - take action at the link below, then urge your friends and family to support HR 1201, too!
Make your voice heard with the EFF Action Center:
http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=115
Cyberia
Quoted from EFF Newsletter, May 5, 2005
Support DMCA Reform - Help Pass HR 1201!
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has been wreaking havoc on consumers' fair use rights for the past seven years. Now Congress is considering the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, HR 1201), a bill that would reform part of the DMCA and formally protect the "Betamax defense" relied on by so many innovators.
HR 1201 would give citizens the right to circumvent copy-protection measures as long as what they're doing is otherwise legal. For example, it would make sure that when you buy a CD, whether it is copy-protected or not, you can record it onto your computer and move the songs to an MP3 player. It would also protect a computer science professor who needs to bypass copy-protection to evaluate encryption technology.
In addition, the bill would codify the Betamax defense, which has been under attack by the entertainment industry through the "Induce Act" last year and the MGM v. Grokster case currently before the Supreme Court. This kind of sanity would be a welcome change to our copyright law.
Last year we sent 30,000+ letters of support for the DMCRA, and the bill got a hearing on Capitol Hill. It's time to double that number - take action at the link below, then urge your friends and family to support HR 1201, too!
Make your voice heard with the EFF Action Center:
http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=115