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posted by mpawlo
on Thursday July 18, @03:52AM
from the spot-the-sneakers dept.
The US Commerce Departement arranged a hearing on Digital Rights Management. The object of the hearing was to discuss DRM legislation with the content industry. Fair use and free software activists interrupted the hearing, insisting on their right to debate the entertainment industry over anti-copying technologies.
Declan McCullagh, News.com journalist (ex-Wired) was at the hearing taking pictures. Jay Sulzberger posed as a panelist at the commerce departement hearing on DRM by kneeling at the table. I guess this is the IP picture of the year. Easily.
I've been participating actively in the pro-consumer copyright cause for quite a long time. After many attempts to influence the political process regarding copyright law, I have sadly come to conclusion that there is no legitimate political process taking place here. I do not perceive any sincere effort on the part of policy makers to find, let alone understand the voice of the public.
This story only reinforces my view. The copyright special interests have gained such a political stranglehold that no opposing views are even allowed in the discussion, even though the anti-DRM view is dominant view of the public. The arrogance displayed by the DOC here is almost unbelievable.
I asked Prof. Lessig a question about the legimacy of the copyright political process when he gave his forum interview on Slashdot. His response was that my sort of cynicism is part of the problem. I wonder what other reaction is possible when an organization like the EFF asks to participate in a discussion and is told to go away?
Does anyone want to try to persuade me that the copyright political process is legitimate?
Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be
lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.
- Isaac Asimov
GrepLaw
