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DMCA circumvention definitions

to `circumvent a technological measure' means to descramble a scrambled work, to decrypt an encrypted work, or otherwise to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological measure, without the authority of the copyright owner; and

a technological measure `effectively controls access to a work' if the measure, in the ordinary course of its operation, requires the application of information, or a process or a treatment, with the authority of the copyright owner, to gain access to the work.

Drm 15 years later

“Be very glad that your PC is insecure – it means that after you buy it, you can break into it and install whatever software you want. What YOU want, not what Sony or Warner or AOL wants.” –John Gilmore

“If we can find some way to [stop filesharing] without destroying their machines, we'd be interested in hearing about that. If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines.” –Senator Orrin Hatch (writer of Our Gracious Lord, Climb Inside His Loving Arms, and How His Glory Shines)

“[MP3 players] are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it” –Doug Morris, CEO, Universal

The problems with blocking

Ease of masking P2P traffic using encryption

Ease of site and content transfers and replication

Sneakernets and WiFi/Bluetooth sharing

Ease of changing DNS servers, and building alternate directory systems

Impact on freedom of expression and privacy

We need to talk about copyright

…but our venues for doing so are completely dysfunctional (WIPO SCCR, WTO, UNESCO, secret multilateral negotiations, US Congress, European Parliament)

Regulation focused on an exclusive right of reproduction is not sustainable in the long run – rights of commercialisation might be more effective, and legitimate in eyes of the public

…but Berne Convention, TRIPS, Internet treaties, ACTA unlikely to change

Trish Steel