(no subject)
While I am loathe to use the Globe and Mail as my primary source for news stories, I just saw this and was thoroughly, thoroughly unimpressed.
To sum up, the Tories have just unveiled legislation that, if passed, will essentially remove the abilities of the consumer to actually purchase any form of media, rather forcing them to rent them and use them only in ways proscribed by the manufacturer.
Now, Faithful Readers will no doubt be well aware of my thoughts on the whole 'Piracy' debate and on 'Intellectual Property,' but for those of you who are here, allow me to explain:
I follow, and have always followed, the principle that if you purchase something - exchange your hours of production for a particular good - you own it in total and wholly, barring any other explicitly-agreed-to-in-writing arrangement. EULAs, for example, are good - albeit tedious - ways of saying 'you own this, but only this copy, so don't lose it.' Rental agreements from Blockbuster and Jumbo are also good examples. Do I agree with them? No, not so much. Do I tolerate them? Only insofar as I am able to, for example, re-download or otherwise re-acquire the media containing my product at my leisure. Steam, for example, is a great system. If I have downloaded and installed a game from Steam and get a new computer, I just transfer the Steam files to the new hard drive and there you have it; games ready to play.
Under this new system that would still be allowed - don't get me wrong there- but if I buy a CD and copy it to my mp3 player so I can listen to my tunes on the go, for example, I will be breaking the law. That's right, folks. If I purchased media in one format and changed it to another to use it on a legally purchased device, I will be breaking the law.
Fancy, no?
Well, I for one am unimpressed and am going to be writing an email to my Member of Parliament, Mr. Rick Dykstra (Dykstra.R@parl.gc.ca) expressing my displeasure at this and urging him to vote against this bill.
The email will be posted once I send it off.
Until then, what are your thoughts on the whole thing?
To sum up, the Tories have just unveiled legislation that, if passed, will essentially remove the abilities of the consumer to actually purchase any form of media, rather forcing them to rent them and use them only in ways proscribed by the manufacturer.
Now, Faithful Readers will no doubt be well aware of my thoughts on the whole 'Piracy' debate and on 'Intellectual Property,' but for those of you who are here, allow me to explain:
I follow, and have always followed, the principle that if you purchase something - exchange your hours of production for a particular good - you own it in total and wholly, barring any other explicitly-agreed-to-in-writing arrangement. EULAs, for example, are good - albeit tedious - ways of saying 'you own this, but only this copy, so don't lose it.' Rental agreements from Blockbuster and Jumbo are also good examples. Do I agree with them? No, not so much. Do I tolerate them? Only insofar as I am able to, for example, re-download or otherwise re-acquire the media containing my product at my leisure. Steam, for example, is a great system. If I have downloaded and installed a game from Steam and get a new computer, I just transfer the Steam files to the new hard drive and there you have it; games ready to play.
Under this new system that would still be allowed - don't get me wrong there- but if I buy a CD and copy it to my mp3 player so I can listen to my tunes on the go, for example, I will be breaking the law. That's right, folks. If I purchased media in one format and changed it to another to use it on a legally purchased device, I will be breaking the law.
Fancy, no?
Well, I for one am unimpressed and am going to be writing an email to my Member of Parliament, Mr. Rick Dykstra (Dykstra.R@parl.gc.ca) expressing my displeasure at this and urging him to vote against this bill.
The email will be posted once I send it off.
Until then, what are your thoughts on the whole thing?