[Upd-discuss] Google public domain library?

[Michael Hart]

On Thu, 16 Dec 2004, Yannick Delbecque wrote:
> On December 16, 2004 11:19 am, Michael Hart wrote:
>> On Thu, 16 Dec 2004, Yannick Delbecque wrote:


>>>
>>> On December 16, 2004 10:16 am, Michael Hart wrote:
>>>> From what I have heard, they are planning very serious DRM on all of it.
>>>>
>>>> Whether they claim copyright or not, they will make it illegal to "break
>>>> in" to get any public domain data other than what they give you.
>>>
>>> I'm not american and I do not know the details of the DMCS act, but
>>> doesn't it forbid to circonvent DRM technologies applied to *copyrighted*
>>> works only?
>>
>> I'm sure there are plenty of laws against breaking in to copy ANY files,
>> public domain or not.
>
> I agree with that. And if it is not the case yet, it certainly will be soon...
> I tought that the main US law about this was the DMCA (not the "DMCS" as I
> wrote above...).

I just presumed it was a typo. . ."S" is next to "A"

>
>> Not to mention that they can always add something copyrighted or
>> trademarked to the file. . . .
>
> Yes, but maybe it is legal to break in to get acess to the public domain
> content withtout touching the rest (you would have to be able to prove in
> court that you didn't touch the rest...). In any case, it also depends on the
> country: it is (yet) not fobbiden to circonvent DRM in Canada, so I would be
> able to extract the public domain content of the files and release it as I
> please.

I'm sure DRM will follow in the footsteps of WIPO's copyright lobbyists,
perhaps a few years behind. . .and thus come The Thought Police. . . .

mh