No, my position has never been I can sue or arrest any broadcasters because they turn on a bit. That sort of thing will be tried in the court of public opinion.
My position is if a bit gets in the way I can probably find some way to get around it, and not buy either devices or media that make it too inconvenient to do so. And I won't be looking over my shoulder for either lawsuits or law enforcement because I may or not choose to bypass something in my own home the name of interoperability and personal fair use.
And I do believe a manufacture has some liability if he willfully markets a device containing hidden and undisclosed copy protection features that subsequently make that device a lot less useful than a consumer was led to expect. Expectations of utility are set by a combination of precedent and vendors presentation. If you purposely mislead a buyer when you easily could predict and correct their mistaken expectations then you should pay.
Stealth copy protection can and likely will cause lawsuits. We need disclosure.
For instance if M$ suddenly implemented the threatened 'analog sunset' overnight with a pushed Windows Update I would expect threatened court action.
- Tom Adam Goldberg wrote:
It doesn't matter if there's been prosecution under the terms you state. The fact is that 1201 says what it says in reasonably plain language: 17 USC 1201(a)(1)(A), "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. [...]" This is surely in conflict with "... broadcasters who transmit "copy never," knowing full well that at least SOME recorders out there will be prevented from copying, are clearly being non-conformant to that court decision." If your position is that anyone who indicates Copy Never is "non-conformant to that court decision", then surely 1201 is also non-conformant (as it makes it a crime to conform (in certain cases)). -----Original Message----- From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tom Barry Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 8:05 AM To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [opendtv] Re: MPAA wants to stop DVRs from recording some moviesI am not a constitutional scholar or an IP lawyer. But one test of a law is the history and practice of how it is actually enforced.Can you provide any example of how any individual has been successfully prosecuted under the DMCA 1201 for circumventing copy protection in his own home for personal use of material to which he had legal access and when he was not otherwise engaged in unauthorized acts of mass distribution?- Tom Adam Goldberg wrote:With that conclusion, surely you believe that the DMCA 1201 anti-circumvention provisions are unconstitutional? -----Original Message----- From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]OnBehalf Of Albert Manfredi Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 10:35 PM To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [opendtv] Re: MPAA wants to stop DVRs from recording some movies Tom Barry wrote:However if the media can be legally accessed then there is currently nothing that says it may not also be legally time shifted. Nobody is required to give you the means to do so but they also may not currently use the law to stop you if you are able to do it yourself in that situation.I would go further, though. I'd say that any product that is sold as a TV recording device has to be able to operate as the public has come toexpect.Which is very much in line with the Supreme Court views in the Betamax decision and also mentioned in more than one FCC ruling. I can see people claiming that nowhere do the courts force CEmanufacturersto build recording devices that meet my definition. Fine, but then don't sell them without explicitly marking them as crippled. Furthermore, FOTA broadcasters who transmit "copy never," knowing fullwellthat at least SOME recorders out there will be prevented from copying, are clearly being non-conformant to that court decision. I can't think of any interpretation, obtuse as many of these can be, that would deny my point. Bert _________________________________________________________________ Enter the Zune-A-Day Giveaway for your chance to win - day after day after dayhttp://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/ZuneADay/?locale=en-US&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_Mobile_Zune_V1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------FreeLists.orgYou can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings atFreeLists.org- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.----------------------------------------------------------------------You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the wordunsubscribe in the subject line.
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