Don Marti
Sun 17 Apr 2005 08:33:51 PM PDT
Fair use made the difference
Although it wasn't supposed to be part of the Elcomsoft trial, fair use did become an issue.
"Under the eBook formats, you have no rights at all, and the jury had trouble with that concept."
-- Dennis Strader, Jury foreman
The DMCA as it exists now violates ordinary people's sense of when copying is right and when it's not.
People's sense of fairness has been shaped by VCRs, copiers and cassette decks. The content cartels have not made the case for "meta-copyright". The more people learn about this issue the less it appeals to them.
The next time criminal charges are brought under the DMCA it will have to be as part of a long list of charges against someone who's also being prosecuted for something else.
A huge win for our side.