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El Reg reports
The US Copyright Office is asking the tech industry and members of the public to comment about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and in particular the rules governing copyright infringement.
Section 512 of the DMCA gives ISPs and internet hosts immunity from prosecution if material that infringes copyright, such as music tracks, is taken down promptly if the entity owning the rights to it protests. "Repeat infringers" are penalized.
[...] The DMCA was signed into law in 1998, and since then flaws have been consistently pointed out in the legislation, not least with section 512. So the Copyright Office wants to know how to improve things.
"The Office will consider the costs and burdens of the notice-and-takedown process on large- and small-scale copyright owners, online service providers, and the general public", the request reads.
"The Office will also review how successfully section 512 addresses online infringement and protects against improper takedown notices. To aid in this effort, and to provide thorough assistance to Congress, the Office is seeking public input on a number of key questions."
In the request for responses, the Office posits 28 questions it would like answered, including how the legislation is working in practice, what legal precedents are affecting its operation, and whether takedown notices are effective. It also asks for any academic studies on the matter.
[...] The guidelines for submissions will be posted on February 1 and the open period for comments ends on March 21, so there's plenty of time to get a submission ready. How much good this will do, however, remains to be seen.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by dbv on Saturday January 09 2016, @03:17AM
What's wrong with it? Seriously? It's used to disenfranchise end users and shut down competition.
I own a DVD or BR and can't back it up because its encrypted. I can't get 3rd party printer cartridges because the manufacturer chose to encrypt? It's ridiculous. Keurig is now using encryption on coffee machines to avoid competition.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by anubi on Saturday January 09 2016, @06:41AM
A few days ago, we discussed here on SN [soylentnews.org] about Warner Brothers and Intel going after these guys [hdfury.com] for making an adapter so that if someone bought one of these super expensive 4K TV sets, it would see the later protocol.... or in the words of the manufacturer:
I feel if our courts are going to uphold this kind of formatting hogwash, they need to - at the same time - abolish all restrictions on customer returns because some product did not play on his protected device. If a business wants the cash to come across the counter and into his cash register - and STAY there, the thing he sold better work. Crap like format incompatibilities like this should be grounds for a product return - where the cash goes back to the buyer, the noncompliant display device and the noncompliant media go back to the merchant.
Let the merchants, Warner Brothers, and Intel have nice business talk on how all this obfuscation is helping their cash flow business.
We would not think twice about returning a light bulb to Home Depot if some manufacturer got a itch up his arse to slightly modify the basing of a light bulb so it would not fit a standard socket, would we?
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Saturday January 09 2016, @09:34AM
Honestly, I kind of consider it a step in the right direction that they're even asking the question. Not enough of a step in the right direction and way too many years late, but any movement in the right direction is better than none.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!