Copyright proposal endorses a status quo that's anti-consumer

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Posted on Wed, Jan. 15, 2003



Copyright proposal endorses a status quo that's anti-consumer

By Dan Gillmor 
Mercury News Technology Columnist

On Tuesday, the recording industry and two technology lobbying organizations
announced a much-hyped set of seven ``policy principles'' that essentially
tell the government to avoid further regulation of customers' rights to copy
content they have legally paid for.

While that notion sounds appealing, the document was, in reality, little
more than an endorsement of a status quo that remains grossly anti-customer.

True, the status quo is better than what some in the entertainment business
have been pushing. I refer here to proposals for mandatory technological
measures designed to thwart unauthorized copying of digital material, not to
mention a dangerous plan to allow entertainment companies to hack other
people's computers.

So let's cheer for anything that helps derail the infamous Hollings bill,
named after U.S. Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C. His legislation would have
required the effective disabling (at the behest of a copyright holder) of
any digital-copying technology under certain circumstances -- a potential
bullet in the brain for the tech and software industries.

The Hollings bill took a bullet of its own when its author lost his Commerce
Committee chair with Republican takeover of the Senate. There's little
indication that his replacement, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is making it a
priority to please the cartel.

Another bad idea, pushed by U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, D-Mission Hills, would
have given copyright holders immunity if they hacked networks where they
suspected people were offering unauthorized downloads. He's still trying,
but this seems like a non-starter.

The agreement among the Recording Industry Association of America, Computer
Systems Policy Project and Business Software Alliance means the chances of
such legislation being passed will diminish a bit more.

The greater significance of the deal is who didn't sign it: the Motion
Picture Association of America, Hollywood's chief lobbying arm.

Hollywood has more political power than the record companies, which
regularly annoy Congress when they insist, correctly if impoliticly, that
they have the absolute right to sell the garbage that Eminem and his
misogynist, violence-praising fellow rappers like to chant. And Hollywood is
far more insistent on restricting its customers' rights to use the content
it produces. 

Any division in ranks among the members of the entertainment cartel is a
victory for consumers.

The Consumer Electronics Association also pointedly abstained from signing
the document. Consumer electronics companies, not the computer crowd, are
the only ones left -- outside of public-interest groups and a few members of
Congress -- who seem to have any real regard for customer freedoms.

I guess we should take solace from the notion that the music recording
industry and the software industry will no longer support legislative
attacks on customer rights.

Still, it would have been better to see them get involved in promoting
progressive legislation such as HR 107 from U.S. Rep. Rich Boucher, D.-Va.,
which would reaffirm customers' ``fair use'' rights to make personal copies
of digital movies and music, among other things.

The group's seven principles make smarmy mention of ``meeting the needs and
expectations of our customers.'' In reality, of course, customers are on the
periphery of this process.

Dan Gillmor's column appears each Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday. Visit
Dan's online column, eJournal ( www.siliconvalley.com/dangillmor ). E-mail
dgillmor () sjmercury com ; phone (408) 920-5016; fax (408) 920-5917.



-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com
To unsubscribe or update your address, click
  http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/