Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Minneman
Anyway I think it really comes down to the saying:
"Locks aren't meant to keep criminals out, they're supposed to keep the honest people out."
So DRM really doesn't do anything to deter someone who intends to break the copy right anyway, it's really just there to make it so difficult it keeps all us non-criminals from doing it.
Copy right laws really don't prevent criminal activity, they're just there to make everyone else's lives miserable if they get caught breaking them.
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Agreed. Though I'd say that it's "Copyright laws in their CURRENT form..."
What needs to happen is DRM needs to go away like it has for music. And Copyright laws need to evolve.
1. There needs to be very clear fair use laws about what people can do with digital content they bought and own themselves. The current laws are super vague (in the US, not aware of other countries). They need to be made more clear and concrete, and very strongly in favor of owners of content being able to use it like they would physical content--loan it, sell it and delete their copy etc.
2. The copyright laws need to become criminal laws--but minor ones. Downloading a book/song/movie is a minor misdemeanor. No silly, absurdly high law suit settlement. Get a penalty like value of item +25%. So a $1 mp3, you'd pay a fine of $1.25. A $10 book, you'd get a fine of $12.50.
Just something to make it worth people's while to just buy the content rather than risk stealing.
Have harsher penalties for the pirates that are distributing illegal materials, as the supply on the darknets needs to be cut down on, along with lowering the demand as above.
And there would have to be some law enforcement agencies to detect illegal distribution and downloading, and enforce it. In the US I'd just create a federal agency to deal with it. Other countries can set their own laws and how to enforce them (or do nothing) publishers, music labels, movie studios etc. can then look at those laws and decide if they want to do business in the digital arena based on those factors and others.
I think that's really what has to happen as we move into an era of digital products. Customers who buy them must have their rights protected and must be able to use them much the same way they can use a real book or cd etc. But content creators and publishers also must have their content protected and have some formal, legal recourse against people who obtain it without paying for it, and people who distribute illegal copies to 100s or 1000s or more people online etc.
A system like that gives those paying for content nothing to worry about, and doesn't hit minor pirates with gigantic fines terrible disproportionate to the value of the content the obtained illegally as we've seen in the RIAA lawsuits.
So I see something like my example as kind of an ideal middle ground for legit consumers and the content creators/publishers.