Boucher Tries To Defang DMCA New Fair Use Act corrects glaring issues... We've long covered Representative Rich Boucher's (D-Va.) fair use fight; a concept which, among other things, suggests that it's ok to make copies of a CD you own (shocking, we know). He's introduced a new law (via Techdirt) that attempts to defang the ridiculously broad DMCA to some degree. The act would exempt private, non-commercial (that also includes reporting, research, commentary and criticism) copying of digital content from criminal prosecution. You can find a copy of Boucher's "Fair Use Act" here in pdf format. The EFF discusses the other ways in which the act tries to rein in the controversial DMCA.
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  MiddiemanEschew Obfuscation
join:2001-02-05
Elkins Park, PA | ... Sounds good. Anyone else think it won't pass?
-=[Middie]=-
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All your base are belong to DSL Reports! | |
|  | | | Re: ... Hmm....being able to use a product you've paid for how you like.....Nah, it'll never pass.  | |
| | | | | Re: ... $2 says nay. Unless there is $2Billion in pork attached.  | |
| | | | | | | | You never know Camelot One, they might pass it. I sure agreed with Democrat saying and he truly got his point across about unfairness and abuse that RIAA are doing.
You think Democratic that controlled the House/Senate will say NO on the bill or will they approved it?
If they approved the bill. How will you feel? That's the 1st step in the right direction to discredit the abusing power RIAA been using lately against innocent people randomly. | |
| | | |  BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | Re: ... said by RyanPatton:You think Democratic that controlled the House/Senate will say NO on the bill or will they approved it? Dems don't have a 2/3 majority to override a veto by Bush though | |
| | | | | | | Re: ... maybe President Bush will support it? Yes, they don't have 2/3 of the vote but if they can get Republican support on their side they can override Bush. | |
| | | | |  pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | said by BF69:]Dems don't have a 2/3 majority to override a veto by Bush though You assume that all of members of the House and Senate in the Democrat party will vote for this bill. Don't forget that it was a Democrat president, Bill Clinton, who signed this POS into law, and one of its major sponsors was a former Democrat Senator from South Carolina, Fritz "Disney" Hollings.
That being said, it would be nice to see some of the provisions of the DMCA rolled back.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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| | | | | The bill itself is a good bill, and it has no financial gain for Congress. For this reason, I still think it will fail. IF it passes, it will be with several attachments on unrelated things, all of which will be somehow profitable for Congressmen.
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| | | |  Morac
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1
 ·Comcast
| said by RyanPatton:You think Democratic that controlled the House/Senate will say NO on the bill or will they approved it? Actually while Republicans are business friendly, Democrats are Hollywood friendly (Gore even won an Oscar). I'm willing to say neither votes for this bill.
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The Comcast Disney Avatar has been retired. | |
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|  Romney2012Defeat Obama 2012-Chg we can believe inPremium
join:2002-03-03
USA
kudos:4 | New Fair USE Act doesn't deliver much ... ...according to Ars Technica article:
»arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20···934.html
But can the FAIR USE Act deliver? A cursory investigation suggests that the bill won't make much of a dent in the DMCA. In its present form, the FAIR USE Act is effectively a watered-down version of Boucher's DMCRA...
The DMCRA would have made any "fair use" of digital goods legal, regardless of anti-circumvention laws. The FAIR USE Act does not provide this, as it was a major sticking point with the content industry.
If passed, the FAIR USE Act will amend the DMCA to codify recent exceptions granted to the anti-circumvention rules by the Register of Copyrights, which include some allowances for obsolete technologies and cell phone unlocking.
Yet again, the bill does not appear to deliver on what most observers want: clear protection for making personal use copies of encrypted materials. There is no allowance for consumers to make backups of DVDs, to strip encryption from music purchased online so that it can be played anywhere, or to generally do any of the things that the DMCA made illegal in one fell swoop.
The bill does seek to place limits on statutory damages stemming from infringement, including contributory infringement, inducement of infringement, vicarious liability or other indirect infringement. In doing so, the bill will seek to codify the law regarding inducement and contributory infringement to ease fears among technology companies stemming from the fallout of MGM v Grokster.
Basically, their take is the bill is designed to protect companies making player hardware and no one else. There is nothing in there for end users.
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| | juniorx
join:2006-02-05
St John'S, NL | Re: ... This wont pass. If it does, the judge should mark a big LOL on the draft | |
| |  spy1Welcome to AmerikaPremium
join:2002-06-24
Charlotte, NC | Well, it certainly can't hurt to use this link:
»action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=271 to email your Rep if you are in favor of it (I also c&p'd their letter into a FAX, which I then sent to my Reps' Wash. and Charlotte offices.
Isn't anything to stem the tide better than nothing? Especially when it's been made so easy-to-do? Pete | |
| |  Doctor FourMy other vehicle is a TARDISPremium
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX | His previous bill, the DMCRA, failed after heavy
opposition from the big media lobby, because there
were fair use provisions in it that allowed users to
bypass the DMCA.
Even though this bill is lacking those provisions, IMO it
still has little or no chance of success.
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"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot) | |
| | |  ABPremium
join:2006-04-04
Leesburg, VA
kudos:3
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: ... said by Doctor Four:His previous bill, the DMCRA, failed after heavy opposition from the big media lobby, because there were fair use provisions in it that allowed users to bypass the DMCA. Even though this bill is lacking those provisions, IMO it still has little or no chance of success. This thing hardly encompasses sweeping changes, and the mere fact that it would go to a vote certainly gives it at least a "chance" of success.
I always remember what Jim Valvano said before his N.C. State basketball team beat the "unbeatable" Houston Cougars in the 1982 (or '83?) championship game, when reporters were asking him what it felt like to "not stand a chance" in the game--
"No chance?? There's only two teams on the floor in this game, and we're one of them-- so we GOTTA have a "CHANCE!""  | |
| | | | Doctor FourMy other vehicle is a TARDISPremium
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX | Re: ... It's just my cynicism of the entire political process showing.
I think the other side likely has a lot more money to throw
around.
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"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot) | |
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|  cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:5 | The idealist in me says it will because it makes sense.
The realist in me says it won't because it makes sense.
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Go Colts | |
| | KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | best way to tackle the DMCA isnt head on but weasel exceptions to it and fair use clauses into things like bills that get more cops on the streets. people love to have more cops in bad areas so ya slip your DMCA killer into that an weasel it through.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports | |
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| | Unfortunately This unfortunately will not pass. I remember a few years ago when a bill led by the EFF call the Digital Consumer's Rights Act tried to get it passed through Congress and both the MPAA and RIAA fought very hard opposing it. What this bill did is allowed consumers to easily circumvent copy-protections placed on media for personal use.
I for one support this bill because the DMCA is badly written giving copyright holders WAY TOO much power. | |
| Asmodeus
join:2004-05-26
Spring Valley, CA | i'll be shocked... if this thing even gets past committee... people who have long bemoaned something like the patriot act have no idea how utterly insidious the DMCA truly is and any legislation that will curtain it's overreaching/draconian statutes should be passed through, but i don't think it will... | |
|  dadkinsCan you do Blu?Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
kudos:18 | Bill, Schmill! I can copy almost anything... short of Blu-ray, but that's coming!
Seeing as my laptops rip as soon as a CD is inserted... what do I care about some stupid bill?
DVDs, well, yeah! They get ripped too!
Soon, even the BDs will get ripped.
KMA RIAA & MPAA!
Man I love my VAIOs!
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Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
| | Morac
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1 Reviews:
·Comcast
| Re: Bill, Schmill! Sure you can copy them, but wouldn't it be nice to be able to legally copy almost anything without having to worry about the RIAA/MPAA breaking down your door?
Copying copyrighted material is a federal crime (ever see those FBI warnings). unless the copy is protected by the "fair use" clause. This is why copying a CD as a personal backup is legal.
Technically copying a DVD for personal backup is also legal, because the DMCA has provisions that allow using tools to get around copy protection schemes for purposes of "fair use" is legal. Of course the DMCA makes the creating of such tools illegal no matter how they are used. So it's okay to crack the encryption for personal use as long as you tell anyone else how to do it (eg: using DVD X Copy is sometimes legal, selling or giving away DVD X Copy is never legal (company was sued)). DVD Jon got around this by not being in the U.S. when he developed his hack.
The same thing is true with Blu-ray and HD-DVD. You're free to make backups if you can. This is the dumb part of the the DMCA because you really can't since it's illegal to crack the AACS scheme. That and the AACS scheme was designed with the understanding that the decryption keys would be cracked and has ways of revoking said keys.
By the way I'm not disagreeing with you, just bringing up the point of the bill.
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The Comcast Disney Avatar has been retired. | |
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 JehuPremium
join:2002-09-13
MA
kudos:2 | Classic This brings absolutely nothing new to the table in terms of "Fair Use." It's just a rephrasing of the oringinal.
Brilliant. Sure, pass the Bill...why not.. nothing new. | |
|  thender2Glamour ProfessionPremium
join:2004-05-16
Staten Island, NY
1 edit | This is going nowhere. The DMCA wasn't drafted because everyone got together, had a nice calm discussion, and decided it was best. It was "you owe me a favor", it was large campaign contributions, it was strong arm tactics, it was "we're going to attach this to other bills that benefit sick people and children". They are on top, and no fair use bill is going to stop that.
Rick Boucher is one guy. How many people who matter are behind this? The EFF? The EFF doesn't have any influence at all, or we wouldn't be where we are today in the first place.
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The Problem With Music.
Our Rationale
Time to rewrite the DMCA. | |
|  tim_kButtons, Bows, Beamer, Shadow, KaseyPremium,VIP
join:2002-02-02
Stewartstown, PA
kudos:13 | and another thing While he's at it, perhaps he can submit a bill that does away with the RIAA suing the Girl Scouts for singing "row, row, your boat' or restaurant workers who sing 'happy birthday'.
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| |  Link LoggerPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-29
Calgary, AB
kudos:3
·Shaw
| Re: and another thing Can anyone give me a link to a credible site (like a real news site as I would have thought this would have made headlines with at least one major news site) with the information about the RIAA trying to sue the Girl Guides as my Google search for RIAA 'Girl Guides' sue only returned fluff sites.
In short I'm thinking this is nothing more then urban legend material.
That said I do have one question, how would the RIAA ever know if I made personal backups, if I kept them safe and for my eyes only sort of thing? I doubt any judge is going to give them a search warrant based on the claim that I have a burner.
Don't get me wrong I think the RIAA is goofy, but there has to be a workable middle ground somewhere, where content producers and copyright owners feel protected and yet consumers feel their 'purchase' is protected from unreasonable limitations.
Thanks
Blake
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Vendor: Author of Link Logger which is a traffic analysis and firewall logging tool | |
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| | One honest politician vs 500 corrupted (ahem, bribed; ahem^2 re-educated) politicians. Yeah, I think his efforts will be a failure, but I salute him none the less. | |
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