On Wed, 3 Apr 2002, Christopher Smith wrote:
-----Original
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From: Wayne M. Smith [mailto:wmsmith@earthlink.net]
> > > that enable others to engage in mass distribution.
> Doesn't it make as much sense to go after those involved in "mass
> distribution"
> > > of the circumvention device, such as DeCSS?
You may as well put Fred in jail for Xenocopy, in fact
;)
They probably will, very soon. :(
Joe Rigdon's forwarded piece concerning CARP's hijacking of the
internet radio broadcasters is a case VERY relevant to this discussion.
(CARP is the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel) As has been pointed
out, all the activities the DMCA was advertised as targetting were
already illegal. Legislating enforcement of existing legislation is
currently very popular in the US, but it has _never_ been effective.
Duh....
What the DMCA has really accomplished is to put much of the authority
to administer copyright law into the hands of beurocratic agencies.
Agencies who are not accountable to, or easily accessible by, the
general voting public. Not coincidentally, they are also much easier to
bribe^H^H^H^H influence by lobbying.
Doc