IP: nfoworld column on how DMCA widens gap between open and closed source

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Christopher Herot" <cherot () herot com>
Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 13:19:21 -0500
To: "Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>
Subject: Infoworld column on how DMCA widens gap between open and closed
source


http://www.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/02/03/11/020311opsource.xml



March 8, 2002 01:01 PM PST
Some games aren't fun
Russell Pavlicek

A TUG-OF-WAR is in progress between users of proprietary software and the
software companies. If you cannot control the software you use, control of
your business is at risk. Recent events demonstrate how the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) can be used by software companies to wrest
control of proprietary software from you.

Blizzard Entertainment, a popular maker of networked PC games, recently
demanded that an open-source project, bnetd, be shut down under the
provisions of the DMCA. The "crime" of the project is interesting: It
provided software that emulates the server portion of some networked games.
This allows people who legitimately purchased Blizzard software to create
private game networks with their friends. Unfortunately, because the
open-source server does not (and cannot) contain Blizzard's proprietary ID
check, it also permits people with pirated copies to use the server.

So, in the name of the anti-piracy provision of the DMCA, bnetd has been
shut down (for the moment, anyway).

Now, someone may ask, "What does this have to do with me? I'm interested in
running a business, not playing games." In this case, the distinction
between game and business software is immaterial. Whether in the office or
in the den, software providers will continue to push the envelope to expand
their control in order to protect their interests. And their expansion of
control will in all likelihood reduce your control over your business.

The problem here is one of precedent. If you thought you were free to use
legally obtained software any way you wanted, think again. Under the guise
of protecting its intellectual property, Blizzard has also demonstrated that
it is possible to force its customers to use its software with its services
alone. And don't think for a minute that the rest of the software industry
hasn't noticed.

Up until now, producers of a product could void a warranty if you did not
use the product according to the manufacturer's instructions. But now, the
producers of a product can actually demand that you use the product in a
certain way. Attempting to use the product in a different way could not only
void the warranty, it could make you subject to prosecution.

It's amazing how the right to protect intellectual property has managed to
erode the rights of consumers. Open source, on the other hand, specifically
seeks to empower software consumers, giving them the right to use,
distribute, modify, and distribute modifications to the software. In the
days ahead, I fully expect that the gap between the rights of open source
and the restrictions of closed source will begin to resemble the Grand
Canyon.

Many Blizzard software users are now calling for a boycott of the software
company. Others are investigating a legal response. Still others are seeking
to overturn the DMCA.

But the big question is, what will be your response when it happens to you?
If you are relying on closed source software, your time may be closer than
you know.


Copyright 2001 InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.



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