Finally some anti-piracy sense

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: David Shirley <david () legba org>
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 22:43:33 +0100
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Finally some anti-piracy sense

I thought that this may be of interest to the list. Looks like we're
finally seeing some decent opposition to the continual attack on
consumer rights with some sensible proposals from Dell, Microsoft,
Adobe and Apple (amongst others).

The article (from http://www.pdfzone.com/news/101548.html):

---
Adobe agrees to anti-piracy measure

Can the DMCA digital copyright legislation be saved? Will the music
industry's hardware makers be forced by the government--at the behest
of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), whose members
own the digital files--to build copy-protection schemes into CD
players? Will owners of PDF e-books be able to rest in peace, knowing
that the long arm of the law will discourage hackers from pirating
their content?

The answer to all of those questions is "maybe." But a good first step
was taken this week, as wire reports say that Adobe and other major
computer software makers have agreed to get on the same page with the
RIAA in order to stave off further government legislative meddling.

All the parties who are in agreement--including Dell, Microsoft and
Apple--pledge to argue against hardware copyright protection schemes as
well as against new bills currently before Congress that explicitly
give consumers the right to make a limited number of personal copies of
software under the "fair use" doctrine of U.S. copyright law. For its
part, the RIAA has dropped its pursuit of forcing manufacturers to
build copyright protection into hardware.

"This is a landmark agreement because it shows that a broad
cross-section of companies have come to the conclusion that
government-mandated technology protection measures simply won't work,"
says Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of the Business Software
Alliance--of which Adobe is a member. "The technology industry--more
than anyone--knows this. And today's agreement shows that the companies
that are hard hit by Internet piracy understand this. With this
agreement we stand committed to embracing technology and working
together to find the best ways to harness technology's promise for
consumers, creators and the entertainment industry."
---
Regards,

David Shirley

------ End of Forwarded Message

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