DMCA

[Robert F. Stockdale IV]

Thought this might be of interest to everyone. I can forward the
complete email/newsletter to the list if you wish to read the whole thing.

excerpt:

Consumers and industry alike have benefitted greatly from the "Open
Source" or "Free Software" movement, in which technologies are
distributed in a form that encourages end-user modification. From
server-software like the web-wide success-story apache, to operating
systems like GNU/Linux, to consumer applications like the Mozilla
browser, Free Software is a powerful force for innovation, consumer
benefit and commercial activity. The BPDG proposal implicitly bans
Free Software DTV applications -- such as the DScaler de-interlacer
and the GNU Radio software-defined radio program -- as these
applications are built to be modified by end-users, something that
is banned under the BPDG proposal. The tamper-resistance component
of the BPDG's "Robustness Requirements" will create and entire class
of illegal software applications, abridging the traditional First
Amendment freedom enjoyed by software authors who create expressive
speech in code form under one of several Free Software/Open Source
licenses.



Interesting that Hollywood would go this far.
Bob