KingsGambit
Caldari Knights
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Posted - 2009.05.12 20:58:00 -
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There've been enough threads about piracy in this forum already recently, but the OPs two points aren't really related. While the quote is obviously companies trying to refuse to take any liability for their software products, the DMCA is the US' way of trying to curb bypassing software security. That isn't the same thing as pirating copyrighted content.
Regarding the 'hypocrisy'...I don't think that's appropriate. They're two unrelated points. I do think it comic that companies would deny taking any liability for making software that does allow data to be lost, corrupted or accessed by an unauthorised person. They made a defective product...if it was a physical device, you'd get an exchange or refund, why shouldn't consumers have the same options with software that lets them down? (Apart from the fact that returning a physical disc doesn't mean the software is uninstalled, and the the serial number hasn't been used).
Regarding the DMCA...it's frankly bollox. If I buy a VCR, it's mine to open up and poke metal objects into as I please. I'm well aware any warranty is null and void but still, I own it so can do with it what I like. I can't copy the PCB design and produce more to sell as my own of course. With software however, what's to stop me stealing the code and making my own product from it? Thankfully you can't copyright parts of code (the industry tried to push for this a few years ago but luckily it got binned), but the end product is a copyrighted IP.
The problem comes when you have something you paid for but doesn't work how you want it to. The most famous example is the guy who gave the world DeCSS...he legally bought a DVD but couldn't play it on Linux. So he reverse engineered the CSS encryption so that he could play it. He was taken to court and the industry lost. Now the DMCA is in place, doing that in america would be illegal, but shouldn't the man be allowed to play his legally owned DVD? Why should the industry dictate how, where and when he can and cannot play it? Now, where do you draw the line? Should the act of simply bypassing a software's protection be illegal, or should the illegal act be when abusing copyright law?
The main reason for the popularity of MP3, compared with WMA for example, is because there's no copy protection. Someone with an MP3 can burn it, Email it, upload it, play it anywhere at any time. I understand the need for copy protection, but who would buy a digital file they cannot use how they want to? If I can get a DVD cheaper region 1, i will, the DVD forum can stick their region protection somewhere the sun doesn't shine.
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