Comments on: Microsoft and Viacom show the way to sensible copyright enforcement

We need to encourage certain forms of piracy, as Microsoft and Viacom suggest.

[jrepenning]

We always blame the lawyers in these things, but I'm not so sure that's fair. Lessig, for example, is a lawyer, and yet he's consistently rational and full of common sense. I think maybe these lawyers we blame for waging this war on kids -- on customers, in fact -- might just simply be following the orders of their employers. That defense didn't work at Nuremberg either, of course, but at least it ought to restore our focus on the "generals" in the "war."

[Pete Bardo]

Isn't that special. Viacom has promised not to sue over fair-use! No kidding? You mean to tell me that if I haven't violated copyright (fair use) they won't sue me! What a concept.

I've been wondering why Viacom and RIAA aren't after Phillips. Remember the ads they ran encouraging people to make their own mix cd's from copyrighted material?

It's not enough, nor even a good start for Viacom to make this "concession".

[catch23]

I would suggest you read up on Fair Use
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

It doesn't mean what you wishfully want it to.

[Crash2100]

What I find rather interesting about all of this is that, all this copy protection stuff is supposed to stop people from sharing the music online. But we can constantly see how beautifully all that has been stopped. And where's the point with having copy protection if they let customers make an audio CD with the music they buy? Because you can rip an MP3 right off the CD.

Sadly, all copy protection really does is punish the poor people who are trying ever so hard to get this stuff legitimately.

[sooty]

The whole entertainment business needs to rethink copyright and what is fair use. Sony to name one is split into two camps. One half is trying to stop you making copies of videos and music it sells, whilst the other is selling you the means to copy it!
From the days of reel to reel tape recorders and top loader video's people have copied music, TV and films for personal use and will continue to do so. If they like what they see and/or hear they will want to own the original which makes for a sale for record/film companies. DVD's have now come down to a reasonable price level and it is cheaper to own a copy than to take the family to see it at the cinema. Bands these days probably make more money from radio and TV plays (which other industry gets paid to advertise anyway?) and live performances than they make from CD sales unless they sell millions of copies.
The whole copy right issue on media needs overhauling and needed doing a long time ago.