Anti-DRM bill introduced to Congress
We can all get a little more excited about the prospect of DRM-free content, as a bill called the Freedom And Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship Act of 2007 (FAIR USE Act) was introduced to Congress Tuesday, February 27 2007.
The bill, which was introduced by John Doolittle (R-CA), and Rick Boucher, aims to allow consumers, teachers, and librarians (?) to remove DRM protection on audiovisual media from purchased content.
The bill is one of many attempts to combat the Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998, which made the creation of software designed to circumvent copyright protection, or the act of removing copyright protection, illegal, even if there was no actual copyright infringement. This bill is where our lovely little friend DRM (Digital Rights Management) was born.
For those of you unfamiliar with DRM, it is essentially any device, software or other, that prohibits the copying or editing of any copyrighted material in the audiovisual category.
The ways it manifests itself are many; how many times have you attempted to skip the previews of a rented movie but couldn’t? How often have you wanted to use the music you downloaded in iTunes on something other than…iTunes?
Friends, that is how DRM rears its ugly head in day to day life. Now,
the concept of DRM is good; it is designed to protect the rights of the creator and distributor, so content cannot be illegally redistributed without purchase.
However, many consumers feel that DRM unfairly limits the uses of DRM-protected content. With DRM, you cannot backup a DVD on your hard drive, or make personal copies. You cannot move your legally-obtained iTunes purchases into another folder for backup.
The question that is really at the heart of the matter is this: Does DRM effectively stop the illegal redistribution of copyrighted material? The answer is definitively no.
There have always been and will always be internet pirates and hackers who’s sole joy is defeating DRM protection and distributing content freely. As DRM is broken, and new versions created, so hackers begin the work of defeating the latest version.
The cat and mouse game of creating DRM to have DRM broken in a matter of months presents a stalemate; companies can continue wasting revenue creating new DRM only to have it defeated, or a new set of terms can be reached.
I believe there is a consistent group of people who, no matter how immoral, will always pirate content illegally, DRM or no. Allowing consumers to legally break DRM will not suddenly change good-hearted consumers into thieving pirates; it will allow consumers the full right to access and manage their content as they please.
“What can I do, Triston?” you may ask. If you feel that DRM shouldn’t be allowed to control consumer digital media, you can contact your local state representatives and let them know how you feel. If this opportunity slips by, you might not get another chance for a good while.
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March 1st, 2007
I have sent a message to my Senators and Congressman asking them to support this bill, and any other FAIR USE supporting bills, everyone that reads this should do the same.