[CAnet - news] DMCA Architect Admits Defeat

For more information on this item please visit my blog at 
http://billstarnaud.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------

 [From a posting on johnmacsgroup by Michael Geist -- BSA]

Though I'm not sure simply giving up on copyright and going for a 
'patronage culture' is the best solution. That methodology produces art 
which serves the needs of those with money and power, and the 
independant artist who is critical of the established order is left out 
in the cold. Ironically, it is the hip, young, anti-commercial leftists 
who are leading the way to a world where all professional artists will 
work for commercial concerns. (And how will this work for art which does 
not enhance the profitability of other media? A movie company would pay 
for music to use in its films, for example, but who will pay for books 
whose only value is the book itself, not its value as a tie-in to 
something else? A quick look at fanfiction.net shows the quality of 
purely amateur writing in terrifying detail...)

Again, I state, the solution is cultural, not technological. Violating 
copyright should be seen as being on the same moral plane as kicking 
puppies or peeing in public -- something civilized people Just Don't Do.
================================
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1826/125/

Friday March 23, 2007
McGill University hosted an interesting conference today on music and 
copyright reform.  The conference consisted of two panels plus an 
afternoon of open dialogue and featured an interesting collection of 
speakers including Bruce Lehman, the architect of the WIPO Internet 
Treaties and the DMCA, Ann Chaitovitz of the USPTO, Terry Fisher of 
Harvard Law School, NDP Heritage critic Charlie Angus, famed music 
producer Sandy Pearlman, and myself.  A video of the event has been 
posted in Windows format.

My participation focused on making the case against anti-circumvention 
legislation in Canada (it starts at about 54:30).  I emphasized the 
dramatic difference between the Internet of 1997 and today, the harmful 
effects of the DMCA, the growing movement away from DRM, and the fact 
that the Canadian market has supported a range of online music services 
with faster digital music sales growth than either the U.S. or Europe 
but without anti-circumvention legislation.

The most interesting - and surprising - presentation came from Bruce 
Lehman, who now heads the International Intellectual Property Institute. 
  Lehman explained the U.S. perspective in the early 1990s that led to 
the DMCA (ie. greater control though TPMs), yet when reflecting on the 
success of the DMCA acknowledged that "our Clinton administration 
policies didn't work out very well" and "our attempts at copyright 
control have not been successful" (presentation starts around 11:00). 
Moreover, Lehman says that we are entering the "post-copyright" era for 
music, suggesting that a new form of patronage will emerge with support 
coming from industries that require music (webcasters, satellite radio) 
and government funding.  While he says that teens have lost respect for 
copyright, he lays much of the blame at the feet of the recording 
industry for their failure to adapt to the online marketplace in the 
mid-1990s.

In a later afternoon discussion, Lehman went further, urging Canada to 
think outside the box on future copyright reform.  While emphasizing the 
need to adhere to international copyright law (ie. Berne), he suggested 
that Canada was well placed to experiment with new approaches.  He was 
not impressed with Bill C-60, seemingly because he does not believe that 
it went far enough in reshaping digital copyright issues.  Given ongoing 
pressure from the U.S., I'm skeptical about Canada's ability to chart a 
new course on copyright, yet if the architect of the DMCA is willing to 
admit that change is needed, then surely our elected officials should 
take notice.


-------------------------------------
To SUBSCRIBE:
send a blank e-mail message to
[email protected]

To UNSUBSCRIBE:
send a blank email message to
[email protected]
-------------------------------------

These news items and comments are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect
those  of the CANARIE board or management.



-----------
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.canarie.ca/~bstarn
skype: pocketpro
SkypeIn: +1 614 441-9603


_______________________________________________
news mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.canarie.ca/mailman/listinfo/news