[Fwd: EFFector 16.30: Librarian of Congress Fails Public Interest in Copyright Regulation]

["Olga Francois" <ofrancois@xxxxxxxx>]

FYI..

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: EFFector 16.30: Librarian of Congress Fails Public Interest in
Copyright Regulation
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 19:16:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Effector List <alerts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
* Librarian of Congress Fails Public Interest in Copyright Regulation

Ignores Fair Uses of DVDs and CDs

Washington, DC - The Librarian of Congress this week continued to
disregard
consumers' rights and denied exemptions to copyright law related to
consumers'
use of CDs and DVDs that they legally purchase.

EFF had urged the Register of Copyrights and the Librarian of Congress
to grant
exemptions to the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) ban on
circumventing technological locks.  These digital locks, known as
"digital
rights management" (DRM) systems, limit how consumers can play and view
their
CDs and DVDs. 

"Consumers are the real losers in today's ruling, because the Librarian
of
Congress is ignoring the rights of nearly everyone who has purchased CDs
and
DVDs," said EFF Staff Attorney Gwen Hinze.  "We're disappointed that the
Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress did not recognize the
significant
impact that the DMCA is having on millions of consumers' ability to make
reasonable uses of digital media they've purchased."

The Copyright Office did grant exemptions for the following activities:

1. Decoding lists of Web pages or directories blocked by Internet
filtering
software, also known as censorware.  EFF Pioneer Award recipient Seth
Finkelstein was instrumental in lobbying for censorware exemptions to
the DMCA
for each U.S. Copyright Office rulemaking period.

2. Circumventing obsolete digital rights management devices called
dongles that
prevent access due to malfunction or damage.  The Internet Archive
requested
this exemption.

3. Accessing computer programs and video games distributed in obsolete
formats.
The Internet Archive requested this exemption.

4. Accessing ebooks for which the publisher has disabled the read-aloud
function
or the ability to use screen readers to render the text into a
specialized
format, such as Braille for access by the blind.  The American
Foundation for
the Blind and five major library associations requested this exemption.
 
"Although the exemptions granted by the Librarian of Congress are
important,
today's ruling just underscores the need for legislative reform of the
DMCA to
restore the balance in U.S. Copyright law," said EFF Senior Intellectual
Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann.

For the full press release:
<http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/20031028_1201_pr.php>

Ruling of the Copyright Office:
<http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/copyright_ruling.php>

Comments and testimony to the Copyright Office:
<http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/copyrightoffice/>

EFF report: "Unintended Consequences: Five Years under the DMCA":
<http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/unintended_consequences.php>