[FC-discuss] Letter to the BBC

[Timothy Cowlishaw]

On 13 May 2007, at 16:01, Ringo Kamens wrote:

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

See my previous email - It might be worth toning down the 'fair-use'  
and private-copying right stuff, as we essentially don't have these  
in the UK (Fair Use is not actually an 'internationally recognised'  
doctrine, but purely a US one, although other countries may have  
similar statutes.) Best steer clear of using these arguments when  
writing to a UK entity.

However, the Royal Charter stuff is great, and it's worth mentioning  
(as much as possible) that there is *no point* DRM-ing your content  
for internet delivery, when it's transmitted in the clear over  
conventional TV broadcast.

cheers,

Tim