Federico Heinz: Re: [A2k] L&E and DRM/ TPMs - parking lot analogy

[Jeffrey A. Williams]

Manon and all,

  The problem with Frederico's argument is that if circumvention
devices or software is illegal to distribute, only suspected criminals
will have it and as such circumvention becomes a bad path to follow
accordingly.  Yet such devices and/or software exists and is not
difficult to obtain, and again as such, those using it if caught are in
violation of DMCA accordingly and can be prosecuted as such
accordingly.  Ergo such a small distinction in DMCA as you purport
is basically useless in order to achieve the intended goal unless including
violating the law in order to do so is worth the risk.

  What would be far better is to amend DMCA in several specific
ways to allow for access, although not free access to any digitized
works online, or in CD/DVD form, at the same price those works
are accessible in non-digitized form and require that publishers
make same available to any and all peoples at that price regardless
of their jurisdiction.  Further it would seem reasonable that public
educational institutes in any jurisdiction have free access to same,
but with some restrictions that adequately protect the authors
copyright of same.

Manon Ress wrote:

> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> From: Federico Heinz <fheinz@vialibre.org.ar>
> Date: May 3, 2009 9:31:25 AM EDT
> Subject: Re: [A2k] L&E and DRM/ TPMs - parking lot analogy
>
> On 03/05/2009, James Love wrote:
> > The current DMCA exception for reading disabled persons is important,
> > and useful, even if not as useful as it might be if the exception was
> > broader than it is today. The various non-profit organizations that
> > create accessible works can and do overcome technical protection
> > measures in order to make accessible copies of works.  Without those
> > accessible works, people can't read.
>
> Not only those organizations do overcome DRM: virtually everyone does,
> thanks
> to the fact that DMCA did not succeed in its aim to make circumvention
> devices
> unavailable... only illegal to produce and distribute. So, yes, those
> organizations overcome DRM, but doing so involves at least one illegal
> act,
> though not necessarily by them: *someone* must perform the act of
> delivering a
> circumvention device to them.
>
> Part of the point I think Richard is making is that it is unwise to
> spend so
> much effort in removing, one by one, every pebble in reading-impaired
> people's
> path, when they are bound to be blocked by the same large boulder that
> block
> everyone.
>
> > Why would people who are blind want to wait for you to get rid of TPMs
> > before they help themselves?  That might take a long time.  The RNIB
> > UK
> > sometimes uses a slogan: =93Books before we are dead.=94
>
> You are missing the point by a mile. The blind don't have to wait for
> us to get
> rid of DRM, but unless we do get rid of them for everyone, *we won't
> be able to
> help them* (unless we chose to poke our own eyes out first, a measure
> some of us
> would consider a bit over the top).
>
> As for "books before we are dead", I think Richard's suggestion to
> enacts laws
> that force publishers to distribute accessible electronic copies of
> every book
> they publish, at most at the same price as the non-accessible version,
> would
> work much better.
>
>         Fede
>
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