Razor:
Are those laws about copyright to stop lawful (or even lawful good) customers? I always thought that they are made to protect us but not to harden our life. If we try to find roots of the problem, we all 'll come up to the creation of such organistation as goverment
Alcohol is not only illegal in the US, but in Germany as well now. The laws (if you're American: DMCA - if a EU member, depends on your country) are changing now, because governments want to protect intellectual property. They were made to stop
casual piracy - thus driving even legal customers into criminality.
Alcohol is not the only program - CloneCD is now, too. So companies, who have supplied customers with these programs had to take them off or modify them. Sites giving links to these programs allowing to circumvent tech measures (such as copy protection) commit a criminal offence and can be held responsible. Interesting is this: you are allowed to have the programs - but not allowed to use them. And this is inconsistent IMO.
So, now you may understand the "fuzz" in this thread.
If you wish, I can post a link from a German site naming the illegal programs (in their original form). File sharing sites are facing a hard time now - if they offer this, too. Donkey, Kazaa, Morpheus etc. they will meet the court in future times (my belief). I do not know, if the programs I will name - are illegal in all countries, or if the USA has more now, according to their DMCA.
I can only give you my opinion as a librarian now (job disease, most of us respect intellectual property highly) => I have always been angered by the way intellectual property was neglected when it came to the analog/digital world. So, I'm glad, governments are acknowledging and wanting to protect at last!
But I DO understand this: Customer rights are decreased - and the "legal" backup is in a sort of grey zone (correct, Acesx?) I DO understand the frustration and insecurity lawful gamers have. The harmonisation directive of the EU wishes all EU members to egalise their CP laws - and the US have already reacted with the DMCA long before the EU. In any case => my belief is, the courts will be asked in the next time a lot to clarify. Yes, even the German courts, as our changed law still leaves a lot of questions open. Therefore I'm waiting for commentaries I ordered.
Kiya
