[plug] Re: Aussie DMCA is here now!

[Bret Busby]

Darrell Horrocks wrote:
> 
> DMCA is the American FLA for Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
> 
> Is supposedly an upgrade to the copyright act so that it deals with the computer
> age.
> 
> It seems pretty tight and almost draconian, but doesn't take away the concept of
> "fair use".  EXCEPT that the act has a clause that denies decrypting a work or
> using a "circumvention device".
> 
> This is currently the issue with regard to the DeCSS program, as people should be
> able to decrypt works to make their own backups, use for papers etc, but this is
> currently denied by the the act.
> 
> Of course the DVD producers love this! ;-)
> 
> Please feel free to correct me...I can't find the relevent links atm, but it
> appears that the anti-circumvention clause is word-for-word with the American
> one.
> 
> I will echo the doomed sentiment.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Darrell

That DMCA (USA version) is not the result of the conference of the USA
attorneys general, which approved legislation (agreed on, not
necessarily passed into law, yet, and, I hope, not even presented as
bills), which would authorise software companies to remotely disable
their software without warning, and without reason, is it?

If the DMCA does that, then every piece of USA software has to be
regarded as completely unstable, as there is no guarantee that the
software company will allow what is functional one day, to be functional
the next day, and, any USA software company can sabotage their own
software, with the approval of the USA governments (state and feral).
That agreement to approve such malevolent legislation, was made at a
meeting of the USA attorneys general, either earlier this year, or, late
last year.

Apart from the malevolent law agreement by the USA attorneys general,
the issue above, of decryption, could be interesting, if the
reverse-engineering as I mentioned in my previous message regarding
this, is legalised in Australia.

What then? If reverse-engineering is legalised  in Australia, as is
supposed to happen, then a conflict appears likely, with the provisions
of each law. Also, if reverse-engineering is legalised in Australia,
then, what happens when the USA legislation conflicts?

What a tangled webs they weave (as in the members of parliaments).
Still, I suppose, it's more work for lawyers to unravel the webs.

-- 

Bret Busby

......................................