Consumer's Rights

I wanted to thank Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren in her attempt to balance
the interests of copyright holders and consumers.  To that affect I have
written her the following letter and I am seeking some feedback from the
readers of LWN as to their thoughts on the issue.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Congresswoman Lofgren,

	I want to thank you for addressing the issue of Consumer's Rights.  I
live in Sacramento so I cannot actually vote for you but if I could you
would have my vote for sure.  I believe that the Internet -- including
the content that is transmitted by it -- has the largest potential to
transform the world as any invention since Johannes Gutenberg's printing
press.  I'm not talking about transmitting a copy of a song to a million
of my closest friends but about transmitting a copy of a song from my
home file server to my home entertainment system or my office PC for my
personal enjoyment.  I'm talking about information not falling into the
void because the applications that are needed to access it have become
obsolete.  I'm talking about politicians being able to publish something
that can be easily accessed by those intended -- all of us (most
importantly their constituents).  The ability to obtain tools that can
transform information from one format to another so that everyone (who
is legally authorized) can listen, view, or read it.

	I will be writing my representatives to encourage them to support this
legislation.  Again I would like to thank you for your courage in
introducing this legislation in the face of opposition from
organizations such as the MPAA and the RIAA.

	I would like to put the seed of another thought into your head if at
all possible:  the distinction between the cost of the media and the
cost of the Intellectual Property that it contains.  Perhaps this seed
could flourish and grow into a future piece of legislation.  I, like
many millions of other Americans, own both a VCR and a DVD player.  I
have purchased a number of movies on VHS tapes and some of them I have
also purchased on DVDs.  I have paid for both the tape of a movie and a
DVD of the same movie.  I can understand paying twice for the media
since I have both a tape and a DVD but I have been forced to purchase
the same Intellectual Property twice!  That doesn't seem right to me. 
The same thing happened when I replaced many of my old phonograph
records with CDs: I had to repurchase the Intellectual Property that I
had already purchased once before.  This is going to be happening again
soon as a new medium for home audio recordings will be coming out soon: 
DVD audio.  My right of 'first sale' would enable me to sell the older
works at a second hand store and recoup some of the expense but, as the
old formats are being phased out, demand for them is light and therefore
my return will be small.

	A final thought for you in your pursuit for consumer rights might be
the right not to have equipment become obsolete after a very short
time.  I bring this to your attention as it relates to the 'broadcast
flag' that the content creators wish to incorporate into digital TVs and
the audio/video content that they will be presenting.  If this becomes
law then EVERY television sold on store shelves at the moment would
instantly become obsolete.  Even the brand new high definition digital
ones that cost thousands of dollars.  If you (as in Congress) wish to
move Americans to a digital TV format you should assure them that their
investment in the technology will last more than a few years.  Budget
forecasts call for the auctioning off of the analog TV electro magnetic
spectrum; if this doesn't happen in a timely fashion then the money from
the auctions will not become available to help balance the budget.  But
why should I (and other Americans) go out and spend money on new
equipment when the standard has not even been finalized yet?  The short
answer is I won't and I don't believe a majority of others will either. 
This has created a 'chicken and egg' scenario with the complication of
continuously modifying the chicken's genetic sequence.  Which egg will
hatch into the correct chicken?

	Thank you for your time in reading this and your efforts on behalf of
consumers.


Sincerely yours,

Tres ******
Registered and Active Voter
Sacramento, CA

P.S.	I have included the text of this email in my correspondence with my
Senators and Representative.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Regards,
Tres