France DRM Law Gutted In Committee

[bokdol]

2. Please don't change the rules as you go along Apple!!! Paragraph 20 of the Terms of Service Agreement says:

"Apple reserves the right, at any time and from time to time, to update, revise, supplement, and otherwise modify this Agreement and to impose new or additional rules, policies, terms, or conditions on your use of the Service. ... Your continued use of the iTunes Music Store following will be deemed to constitute your acceptance of any and all such Additional Terms."

Honestly. How many of you knew about this clause?

i thought most software companies put this clause in. becasue they are the makers of the system. plus they need this clause wither to make it better or worse. this also allowed them to change the drm from 3 computers to 5. we have to rememebr it can go both ways good or bad. and so far when they changed the rules the added more features. so for them to change the rules is not a bad thing,,, sometimes.

 

[goosnarrggh]

Why's he making sense? A CD is a physical medium and he doesn't have the right to make 5 copies for all his kids. He has the right to make a copy for backup or his own personal use. For example it is illegal to buy a CD, load it into iTunes, then give the CD to your buddy.

That argument is not universally true.

For example, in Canada, consider the following situation:
- Jack buys a CD.
- Jack lends his CD to his casual accuantiance Jill.
- Jill loves the CD and decides to rip it and save it in iTunes.
- Jill returns the CD to Jack.
- Jill burns a copy of the CD so she can use it on her home stereo.
- Joe visits Jill and coincidentally sees the music in Jill's iTunes.
- Joe takes one of Jill's blank CD-R's (with Jill's permission).
- Joe places the CD-R into Jill's Mac, selects the tracks he likes, and presses "Burn".
- Joe removes the CD-R and takes it home with him.
- Jack, Jill, and Joe all have digitally identical copies of the music.
- None of them have violated Canadian copyright law.

How is this possible? Well, in Canada a tarriff is automatically charged against the purchase of every blank CD, DVD, audio tape, VHS cassette, etc. It is collected by the Copyright Board, for distribution as part of the same general royalty scheme that is used, for example, for broadcast radio.

- Jill then burns another copy of the CD and gives it to Jamie as a gift.
- Jill has just violated Canadian copyright law. Jamie is not a party to the crime.

 

[DRMBothersMe]

But what about countries that violate human rights?

In the US:

- Buy a Sony CD with malicious rootdisk software.
- Have your computer infected with rootdisk software.
- Remove rootdisk software.
- Be liable to a $250,000 fine and 5 years in jail for violating the DMCA.

How ridiculous can these things get? Looking at - and removing if you wish - any software on your computer should be an unalienable right. It's no different than free speech or outlawing descrimination.

Media companies managed to lobby for something else. The rights of Sony (and their brethren) are now superior to ours. Why does this not bother more people? Does anyone think a $250,000 fine and five years in jail is the correct punishment for copying a 99 cent song? That's a harsher sentence than robbing a bank.

At least France is standing up for the rights of buyers. That's more than I can say around here