PC-GUY
1
Representatives Rick Boucher and John Doolittle's Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, H.R. 107) would enact labeling requirements for usage-impaired "copy-protected" compact discs. It will also make several amendments to 1998's infamous Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
The DMCRA would:
~ Require clear, visible labels for "copy-protected" audio compact discs that identify their limitations and applicable return policies.
~ Restore consumers' fair use rights by amending Section 1201 of the DMCA to allow circumvention of copy protection for non-infringing uses of the material. For example, it would allow someone to bypass the copy protection on a lawfully purchased DVD in order to view it on a computer running Linux.
~ Protect innovative, multi-purpose technologies. The DMCRA codifies a doctrine, outlined by the Supreme Court in its 1984 "Betamax" decision, which states that technologies with "substantial non-infringing uses" cannot be stifled by copyright holders.
The bill's CD labeling provisions will make certain that consumers know what they are getting when they buy music CDs. If record labels choose to sell "copy protected" CDs that offer consumers less for their money than the CDs they are accustomed to, these dysfunctional CDs should, at a minimum, be prominently
labeled.
The bill also amends the DMCA to make it clear that technological protections should not trump the public's traditional fair use rights under copyright law. Since the DMCA's passage in 1998, it has been used not against copyright pirates, but instead to chill the legitimate activities of scientists, journalists, and computer programmers. Rep. Boucher's bill will go a long way toward restoring in the digital world the traditional balance between the rights of the public and those of copyright owners.
For more information, including the text of the bill, check out:
http://www.house.gov/boucher/internet.htm
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The DMCRA would:
~ Require clear, visible labels for "copy-protected" audio compact discs that identify their limitations and applicable return policies.
~ Restore consumers' fair use rights by amending Section 1201 of the DMCA to allow circumvention of copy protection for non-infringing uses of the material. For example, it would allow someone to bypass the copy protection on a lawfully purchased DVD in order to view it on a computer running Linux.
~ Protect innovative, multi-purpose technologies. The DMCRA codifies a doctrine, outlined by the Supreme Court in its 1984 "Betamax" decision, which states that technologies with "substantial non-infringing uses" cannot be stifled by copyright holders.
The bill's CD labeling provisions will make certain that consumers know what they are getting when they buy music CDs. If record labels choose to sell "copy protected" CDs that offer consumers less for their money than the CDs they are accustomed to, these dysfunctional CDs should, at a minimum, be prominently
labeled.
The bill also amends the DMCA to make it clear that technological protections should not trump the public's traditional fair use rights under copyright law. Since the DMCA's passage in 1998, it has been used not against copyright pirates, but instead to chill the legitimate activities of scientists, journalists, and computer programmers. Rep. Boucher's bill will go a long way toward restoring in the digital world the traditional balance between the rights of the public and those of copyright owners.
For more information, including the text of the bill, check out:
http://www.house.gov/boucher/internet.htm
TAKE ACTION! SEND A MESSAGE
Tell CONGRESS what you want!!!
I did.