[FC-discuss] Letter to the BBC

[Jonathan Roberts]

Hey :D

On 13/05/07, Ringo Kamens <2600denver at gmail.com> wrote:
> So I'm working on a super-secret project which will be revealed in a
> few days.

I'm intrigued and can't wait to discover what!

 >We will be calling on the BBC to remove DRM from their
> broadcasts. I have written a sample letter and would appreciate some
> feedback on it. Are there additional points we should emphasize?
> Spelling errors? etc. It seems a little long. Can this be split up
> into three separate letters?
>
> Dear BBC,
>
> We the undersigned are seriously concerned about the direction the BBC
> is taking. As of a recent decision, the BBC has decided to use
> "Digital Rights Management", herein described as DRM, to manage
> content delivered to users over the internet. In this day and age, it
> is becoming clear that the internet will be the most powerful
> distribution method available to content producers such as the BBC.
> There are dozens of arguments against the use of DRM and a few flawed
> ones that can be used in favor of it, each of which we will address.
>
> Copyright holders are told by the producers of DRM technology that in
> order to keep their content safe from unauthorized copying and
> commercial piracy, they must use DRM. This, while it appears to be
> correct at first, it is completely false. Every DRM system that has

I think you need to remove the "it" from the above line.

> been deployed thus far has been broken, or in technical terms,
> "cracked". This is not caused by flaws in implementation or weak
> encryption, but by the basic fact that DRM is defective by design. DRM
> relies on users not knowing an encryption key that is widely
> distributed to devices that play content. This paradigm has made
> cracking DRM a simple task and new "DRM-enabled" technologies like
> HD-DVD and Blu-ray have already been cracked before their prime.
> Additionally, users may still view BBC content over-the-air or through
> cable/satellite subscription services and make their own legitimate
> backup copies. In such a situation, the entire DRM system is
> circumvented and the argument to "protect copyrighted materials" is
> removed.
>
> Leaders in the other content-driven industries such as music and
> movies have already woken up to the fact that DRM is not the solution
> to their copyright woes. Apple's CEO Steve Jobs called on the music
> industry to release DRM-free music and they listened. This was seen as
> a major victory for consumer freedom and democracy by the entire world
> so it amazes us that you would use this deeply and fundamentally
> flawed technology.
>
> DRM makes consumers into enemies. The BBC has changed the perception
> of viewers that it presents to the world.

I think the above sentence needs rewording. Perhaps:

DRM makes consumers into enemies, and by utilizing DRM the BBC is
changing the way that the rest of the world perceives it.

Maybe not exactly that but I don't think it reads right now.

>DRM assumes that a user will
> use the content they are provided to violate copyright law and in
> reaction removes their fair use rights.

Provided with?

>Fair use is an internationally
> recognized doctrine that establishes when copyrighted content can be
> used without permission. Because of fair use, researchers can make
> photocopies of articles for studying purposes, political candidates
> and news shows can critique speeches by public officials, and parody
> shows such as "Saturday Night Live" can exist without being laden with
> royalty payments. DRM takes the fair use doctrine and throws it out
> the window by refusing to let users make legitimate backup copies of
> their content, edit their content, or in some cases rewind or
> fast-forward their content.
>
> DRM is in direct contradiction to the BBC Royal Charter. The BBC royal
> charter establishes a number of goals and operating conditions
> including promoting education and learning, and stimulating
> creativity. Because DRM stops users from editing content, saving
> content to external sources, copying content for educational purposes,
> and remixing content in the end it stifles creativity and learning.

Great point :D

>If
> people are unable to take content which they have purchased and use it
> for their own personal purposes, then they will choose other locations
> to receive that content. DRM chooses corporate interests over the
> public interest, and because the BBC exists to serve the public
> interest it should not implement any new technology that goes against
> it.
>
> The BBC has decided to release their content under the Windows Media
> Format. The Windows Media Format (WMF) is a proprietary system. This
> means that in order to view it, users have to buy Microsoft Windows or
> licenses for other operating systems (none of which are available).
> The BBC is a public corporation and its funding comes from public
> sources. If people pay for a service, they should only have to pay for
> it once. With WMF and DRM, they are having to pay twice (once to have
> the content created and once to have it shown to them through WMF). In
> addition, since WMF requires Microsoft Windows, it is like adding a
> tax to the content you produce and results in the BBC favoring the
> interests of an unrelated private enterprise. Microsoft has been
> caught multiple times falsifying evidence under oath in US courts and
> violating anti-trust laws in the EU so they aren't a company that you
> should trust all of your content to.
>
> As we have demonstrated, DRM software is not the correct path for the
> BBC to take when releasing its content online. We have demonstrated
> that DRM criminalizes consumers, is defective by design, contradicts
> the BBC charter, and that the use of the WMF format serves to enrich


Windows Media Format format?


> private enterprises. The BBC has been a world leader in content
> delivery and news services for decades. It is time that instead of
> going down the financially and morally bankrupt path by using DRM the
> BBC should take the higher ground and abstain from its use.
>
>

Great work :D

Jon