IP: CS Monitor: Don't Hobble the PCs

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Bob Rosenberg" <bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us>
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 20:44:00 -0700
To: farber () cis upenn edu
Subject: CS Monitor:  Don't Hobble the PCs

Dave

For IP.

Looks like The Christian Science Monitor agrees with us.

Bob


Commentary > The Monitor's View
from the March 19, 2002 edition

Don't Hobble the PCs

Is the best way to stop the pirating of copyrighted material on the Web to
build personal computers and DVD players that won't allow such theft?
 
The entertainment industry thinks so, and it has some powerful allies on
Capitol Hill. One of them, Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ernest
Hollings (D) of South Carolina, has sponsored a bill to mandate
copyright-protection standards for new computers.

The senator's basic concern is to provide safeguards that will encourage
entertainment producers to plunge into the digital world, thus spurring
technological innovations like broadband high-speed Internet service and
high-definition TV. The economic payoff, Mr. Hollings and many others
believe, would be big.

But the loss of online freedom for computer users could also be big if such
a move is pushed through.

Copyright protection is a legitimate concern. The search for ways to prevent
the pirating of songs, films, and TV shows online should go on. But if
mechanisms are built into digital devices to restrict copying, they could
easily interfere with individuals' legitimate and full-range use of their
equipment. Users should, for instance, be able to shift material to other
formats, make backup copies, or record for later play. Restricting such
activities could dampen innovation and economic activity.

Instead of trying to entrench the status quo, filmmakers and others would be
smarter to seek out ways to lure online customers with fair pricing, big
selection, and convenience.

That kind of innovation, plus the inclination of most consumers to obtain
their movies or TV shows legally, may solve the need to protect creative
work in a digital age. Heavy-handed legislation probably won't.
 




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