EFF Bows Out of Broken Process
[Posted December 6, 2005 by cook]
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
For Immediate Release: Thursday, December 01, 2005
Contact:
Fred von Lohmann
Senior Intellectual Property Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
fred@eff.org
+1 415 436-9333 x123 (office), +1 415 215-6087 (cell)
DMCA Triennial Rulemaking: Failing Consumers Completely
EFF Bows Out of Broken Process
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today released a report entitled "DMCA Triennial
Rulemaking: Failing the Digital Consumer," describing why
the third triennial DMCA rulemaking, currently underway
before the U.S. Copyright Office, does not effectively
address the concerns of American digital media consumers.
In light of the shortcomings of the DMCA rulemaking
procedure, EFF will not propose any DMCA exemptions for the
2006-2009 triennial rulemaking period.
Digital media consumers are finding themselves increasingly
hemmed in by "digital rights management" (DRM) restrictions
on digital music, movies, video games, and software. The
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) generally
prohibits consumers from circumventing DRM mechanisms that
control access to DVDs, CDs, and other digital media
products. In an effort to ensure that these DRM mechanisms
would not impede lawful uses of copyrighted works, however,
Congress included what it described as a "fail-safe"
mechanism in the DMCA rulemaking proceeding to be held
every three years by the Copyright Office. The law
delegates to the Copyright Office and Librarian of Congress
the power to grant three-year exemptions to the DMCA's
prohibition on circumventing DRM restrictions where the
restrictions would otherwise encroach on lawful uses of
copyrighted works.
Today is the last day to submit proposals for DMCA
exemptions to the Copyright Office as part of the latest
triennial rulemaking. EFF has participated in each of the
two prior rulemakings in 2000 and 2003, each time asking
the Copyright Office to create exemptions for perfectly
lawful consumer uses for digital media that are encumbered
by DRM. The Copyright Office has rejected all of EFF's
previous proposals.
Based on its prior experience with the rulemaking
procedure, as well as the increasing pervasiveness of DRM
restrictions on digital media products, EFF has concluded
that the triennial rulemaking does not effectively address
the concerns of digital media consumers. Instead, EFF's
report calls on Congress to take legislative action to
reform and repair the DMCA rulemaking process.
"When the Copyright Office is unwilling to grant a DMCA
exemption that would allow consumers to play copy-protected
CDs on their computers, you know the rulemaking process is
failing digital media consumers," said Fred von Lohmann,
Senior Staff Attorney with EFF. "In the wake of the Sony
BMG DRM debacle, it's time for Congress get involved on
behalf of American consumers."
"DMCA Triennial Rulemaking: Failing Consumers Completely"
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/copyrightoffice/DMCA_rulemakin...
For more on why EFF won't participate:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004212.php
For more on DMCA rulemaking:
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/copyrightoffice/
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_12.php#004219
About EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/
-end-
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