[CoLoCo] digital copies on Linux

[Jim Hutchinson]

On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 1:28 PM, Scott Scriven
<ubuntu-us-co at toykeeper.net>wrote:

>
> The way it's written, circumvention devices are illegal, and even
> simple instructions count as a device.  So, if I told you to
> bypass the DRM on certain audio CDs by drawing a black line
> around the edge of the disc with a Sharpie, that would probably
> not be allowed by a strict interpretation of the law.  And source
> code to decrypt a DVD would definitely not be allowed.


And yet tons of programs for making "backup" copies can be legally purchased
as does libdvdcss2 or whatever. The truth is we have two laws that are now
contrary - one says I can backup and archive and transfer my legally
purchased copy, the other says I can bypass the encryption which I need to
do in order to do the first thing. This is an f'ed up situation and as it
stands right now fair use seems to be trumping dmca for this purpose. Where
we are heading who knows.


> > If you own it, you can do as you please with it as long as you
> > are the one still using it.
>
> You don't really own the movie.  You own a piece of plastic.  The
> data on it belongs to someone else.


Ah, and there in lies the rub. No, I don't own the movie, but I did legally
purchase a representation of the movie that I am allowed to view as many
times as I want. I can even sell my representation for as much as anyone is
willing to pay. What about a book? I can read it as often as I want, I can
loan it to as many people as I want. I could even read it out loud and
record my voice so that I could listen to it my car. I could do an
interpretive dance and video it and watch it on my computer or tv or iPod or
whatever. Does that mean I "own" the book? Certainly not. I can't make my
own copies and sell them (unless I wrote the book). But I can enjoy the book
in any way I choose and as often as I choose. How is a movie any different?
I can watch it where ever I want. I can loan it to anyone I want and I can
watch it on whatever device I want. I purchased the rigth to view the movie
and no court has said that I can only watch it in one specific way. The
movie nazis would like to say that. They would like to make me pay to watch
it every time (remember the original divx players that utterlly failed and
now Circuit city, the backers, are going out of business). But truth is that
I purchased a representation and can do what I like short of making copies
and selling/sharing them. DRM infringes on my right to watch the movie.
Would you pay to go see a movie if you had to buy special glasses to decode
it and special headphones to hear it and then have your memory erased so you
can't remember it later.

I think our desire to be good citizens is making us a bit gun shy. The
situation is a mess and little civil disobedience is a good thing. I bet
Thoreau would be making copies to share and thumbing his nose at the movie
industry and then he'd sit in jail and keep doing it.

Funny thing is there is a perfect solution to this problem and it's first
name rhymes with sit and last name rhymes with florrent. But try to watch my
legally purchased representation on my Linux box and noooo.

-- 
Jim (Ubuntu geek extraordinaire)
----
Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html
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