Beardy Says:
I’m not a lawyer(*****), but the last time I checked, the original foundation stone on which copyright law was based was that of “the printed work”. Before anyone arcs-up, I know, music and movies, etc are not “printed works”. However, follow the logic as to why “the printed work” should remain the basis of copyright law and the outrageous claims by the MPAA/RIAA/etc show up for what they really are… blatant grabs for money (which is unlikely to be passed on to the original artist either for that matter…). Nothing like a lawyer in the form of one Steven Metalitz (who represents the likes of the MPAA, etc) to decide to modify consumer rights to bolster the profits of a corporation.
Let’s look at this like “John Q. Citizen” when buying a book, Vinyl LP, cassette or “Red Book Standard” CD (ie: non-DRM-encumbered media). He buys it, takes it home, uses it as many times as he likes until it wears out or he tires of it.
Now consider Metalitz’s statement that he rejects the need “to provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works” that they have already purchased. If extended to non-DRM-encumbered media, the implication is staggering. The logical equivalent of Metalitz’s statement in the real world is that at some indeterminate time after purchase, they are reserving the right to come in and remove or destroy the media from your house and walk away without any compensation.
Now, while that statement may sound outrageous, is it any less outrageous than what amounts to digital vandalism that they are promoting ?
DRM is fundamentally evil.
As a programmer, writer and creator of other things, I fully accept that an artist (and relevant contractually-bound parties) should be adequately compensated for their work. It is actually one of the things I have against open source software, but that’s a different argument. So I have no problem with paying a “fair” or “market” price for a licensed copy for my personal use. I *do* however have a MAJOR issue with being forced to either (a) buy an inferior or DRM-debased(*) product, or (b) re-buy the same product due to built-in obsolescence(**).
The classic quote(***) from Men In Black, “This is gonna replace CD’s soon; guess I’ll have to buy the White Album again…” is a telling commentary on the evolution of media used for some forms of art. While it was meant as a joke, and was funny in context, for some of us it provoked some disturbing thoughts… I own a number of albums for which I have the same album on cassette, LP, direct-master LP, CD, SACD. I also own a few movies that I have on VHS tape, DVD and BluRay. So I get it. I bought each new copy on the new media type because it represented a visual or audible improvement over the previous one. That did not stop me using the old one, but why would I ?
Roll forward to the universe promoted by Metalitz where the 100% legitimate copy I purchased back in 1973 suddenly stops working just because the copyright owner says I cannot use it anymore ? Say what !?!?!? The phrase “pry from my cold, dead hands” comes readily to mind.
This is the commercial equivalent to governments passing retrospective laws and then prosecuting people based on those laws. It is hardly just or reasonable. From a practical commercial perspective, when you buy a product you are entering into a form of contract where you expect goods or services in return for some compensation given to the supplier. It is the basis of the consumer protection laws relating to “goods being of merchantable quality”. If we buy DRM-encumbered products, we are accepting a contract where we accept that we have limited rights. But how can it be “reasonable” under Law for the vendor to unilaterally change the scope of that contract to completely remove your rights to access what you paid for without compensation ? Idiots who bought “play-once” DRM-crippled products get what they deserve…. But that was what they agreed to…
This issue is very insidious. Software companies moving to “activation-based licenses” (ignoring subscriptions) are another in this vein. For example, what happens if you want to re-install Windows in a post-Microsoft universe ? Enjoy your 30 days of use between rebuilds… How would you feel if you could only play your CD or DVD until the vendor takes their authentication systems offline (or goes out of business…. same result) ?
This is the fundamental problem with a pigopoly/oligopoly (look them up if you don’t know the terms) is that it is so close to the behaviour of a cartel; ie: price fixing, market access restrictions, etc.
When you lose your rights one small chip at time, it is like the “boiling frog” anecdote(****). If the likes of Metalitz and his kind have their way, eventually every form of media would eventually reduce to the equivalent of pay-per-view. How do we stop that happening ? Support artists and people who sell non-DRM products. ie: vote with your wallet.
“Big Content ludicrous to expect DRMed music to work forever” – Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/07/big-content-ridiculous-to-expect-drmed-music-to-work-forever.ars
Note: Some of the comments posted under the article are very insightful… eg: “When GM went bankrupt they didn’t come and take away everybody’s car keys.”
Footnotes:
*Many DRM strategies actually break standards. eg: the “Red Book” standard for CDs. Most media-based (ie: CD, DVD, etc) “copy control” solutions depend on breaking standards so that software that adheres to the standards cannot create a working copy.
**Some time back I discovered that DVD manufacturer’s do not provide any warranty whatsoever. If the DVD media suffers delamination as it ages making it unusable, then their response is “so what, just buy another copy”. 20th Century Fox (publisher of “Minority Report”) especially do not seem to care if the media is unusable. I suppose since the disks and packaging only cost them a couple of bucks, they don’t see it as any big deal… um… paying $20 every few months for the same disk is not insignificant and a definite disincentive to buying it in the first place!
***Ref: MIB quotes
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119654/quotes>
****Ref: Boiling Frog
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog>
*****IANAL, “I am not a lawyer”. No references to any Laws made here should be considered as definitive or even accurate.