Re: It's not like we WANT copyright technical protection measures--it's the law!

["Prof. Michael H. Davis" <michael.davis@law.csuohio.edu>]

Unfortunately, Andy, although your thinking is first-rate, that of
Congress was not. In 1992, the Audio Home Recording Act was enacted. To
give you an idea of the abuse this represents, even the title looks like
it was intended to benefit those of us at "home." While it did
legitimize audio home taping (which, to the surprise of many, was always
illegal), what it really did was enact a new tax (on digital recorders
and recording media) and imposed restrictions on how digital recording
was to be conducted. As a result, contrary to what your unchallengeable
clear thinking might tell you, manufacturers of digital recording
devices (which, I assume, the Real Audio software comprises) are
REQUIRED (!!!!) to incorporate "serial copy management" or whatever
nonsense they call it, which must be of a certain type or be the
equivalent approved by, I believe, the Department of State (can you
believe it!). Here is the statute, just in case, as your common sense
should and must dictate, you don't believe this is any more than the
ramblings of an idiot:
                            
17 USCS Sec. 1002.  Incorporation of copying controls 

(a) Prohibition on importation, manufacture, and distribution.  No
person shall import, manufacture, or distribute any digital audio
recording device or digital audio interface device that does not conform
to-- 
   (1) the Serial Copy Management System; 
   (2) a system that has the same functional characteristics as the
Serial Copy Management System and requires that copyright and generation
status information be accurately sent, received, and acted upon between
devices using the system's method of serial copying regulation and
devices using the Serial Copy Management System; or 
   (3) any other system certified by the Secretary of Commerce as
prohibiting unauthorized serial copying. 

(b) Development of verification procedure.  The Secretary of Commerce
shall establish a procedure to verify, upon the petition of an
interested party, that a system meets the standards set forth in
subsection (a)(2). 

(c) Prohibition on circumvention of the system.  No person shall import,
manufacture, or distribute any device, or offer or perform any service,
the primary purpose or effect of which is to avoid, bypass, remove,
deactivate, or otherwise circumvent any program or circuit which
implements, in whole or in part, a system described in subsection (a). 

(d) Encoding of information on digital musical recordings.  
 
   (1) Prohibition on encoding inaccurate information. No person shall
encode a digital musical recording of a sound recording with inaccurate
information relating to the category code, copyright status, or
generation status of the source material for the recording. 
 
   (2) Encoding of copyright status not required. Nothing in this
chapter [17 USCS Secs. 1001 et seq.] requires any person engaged in the
importation or manufacture of digital musical recordings to encode any
such digital musical recording with respect to its copyright status. 

(e) Information accompanying transmissions in digital format.  Any
person who transmits or otherwise communicates to the public any sound
recording in digital format is not required under this chapter [17 USCS
Secs. 1001 et seq.] to transmit or otherwise communicate the information
relating to the copyright status of the sound recording. Any such person
who does transmit or otherwise communicate such copyright status
information shall transmit or communicate such information accurately. 


   

Andy Oram wrote:
> 
> I was just downloading some RealPlayer software (yes, the very stuff that
> got RealAudio bad publicity for the GUID), and like the nerd you know I am,
> I had to read the license before checking "yes." So I discovered this
> strange clause, which I'm sure is not unique to RealAudio:
> 
>         The Software embodies a serial copying
>         management system required by the laws
>         of the United States.  You may not
>         circumvent or attempt to circumvent
>         this system by any means.
> 
> I'm trying to figure out how by any stretch of the imagination they can
> make the claim that the system is required by law. I'm assuming the "serial
> copying management system" must be some encryption/watermark-related scheme
> to prevent me from making multiple copies. There is no law requiring
> copyright protection! Maybe they are twisting around some clause that says
> a technical protection mechanism must be present before certain
> infringements can be prosecuted.
> 
> Any other ideas?
> 
> Andy