The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to the Sonny Bono Law. http://supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/01-618.pdf
Let's stir the pot. Today, law is not the logic of ethics. It is the logic of power. That said, let's recognize the power of technology that is also at play here and look at the options that are left after the USSC decision. In addition to the legal approach of allowing copyright owners to selectively renounce their seemingly ever-engorgable rights (the Creative Commons intiative by Lawrence Lessig), one may be able to provide legal support for technology that -- rather omninously to some -- helps users become trusted fair-user of copyrighted materials that are so protected. DRM can be useful to users. Why would DRM be useful to users? Because it could reduce the need for legislation which outright curbs fair-use under the argument that fair-use is "out of control" in the digital world. Essentially, I'm making the point that fair-use of copyrighted material can be technologically enforced and controlled, *notwithstanding* cooperation (or lack thereof) by the user -- and that is why the user can be trusted by Jack Valenti. This argument, in broader terms, could reduce the perception and the need to have legislation such as the DMCA, that uses the legal system to protect what technology allegedly cannot (*). Technology's role is to create tools to make it nearly impossible for users to profit from an abuse of fair use, which allows laws such as the DCMA to be questioned under legal arguments -- for example, unfair restriction of a buyer's rights. Cheers, Ed Gerck (*) In other words, if it is axiomatic that we do not need much in terms of legislation to prevent users from doing what is tecnologically near-to-impossible, then by making available a technology providing an absence of means for users to significantly abuse fair use so technologically controled, we need less in terms of laws providing the control. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
