Criminalising the consumer - where digital rights went wrong
This article from the Economist touches on a recent case involving fair use and digital rights. Now, if only we could convince companies like Microsoft to stop crippling their products (*cough* Vista *cough*) with draconian DRM measures.
IS IT legal to make a copy of that DVD you’ve just bought so the family can watch it around the home or in the car? In one of the most watched copyright cases in recent years, a judge in northern California ruled last month that copying DVDs for personal use was legal, given the terms of the industry’s licence and the way the copies were made.
The wider implication of the ruling remains clouded—not least because the DVD Copy Control Association, the loser in the case, has 60 days to appeal. But whatever the video industry may like to think, the writing is on the wall for copy protection.
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