Bear Flag Republic Radio Weblog

Electronic Publishing Resource.

How Copyright Became Controversial (PDF)

"How did copyright become controversial? In a phrase, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Although many of legal controversies that have swirled since its October 1998 passage trace their roots to other elements of copyright law, the DMCA created a new feature in copyright law that has crystallized why so many academics, librarians, computer users, and technology entrepreneurs object to what they regard as the overreaching nature of copyright law....

By linking the concept of anti-circumvention to copyright infringement, the DMCA starkly raises new questions about the nature of copyright law. Originally designed to prevent copying, it now also constrains access, including access to materials that one has purchased, like a DVD or a computer. While examining the justification for doing this as a form of contract law is beyond the scope of this essay, I do suggest this fundamental change in copyright law forces a reevaluation of its grounding."

I'm not sure how I missed this one before, but it's an excellent overview of the current controversy. Definite handout material.

I found this paper through the Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog, a wonderful site that I often forget to visit since it's not in my news aggregator.

Side note: check out Charles' Dublin Core meta tags at the top of the source code!  Excellent! I plan to use DC-Dot to generate mine.

[The Shifted Librarian]
comments < 7:43:21 PM        >

Senate Panel Backs Computer Security Boost. Legislation that would increase federal spending on computer security in the wake of Sept. 11 came closer to becoming law on Friday when a key Senate committee approved it. [New York Times: Technology]
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