Do you own a DVD player, TiVO, DVR, or an HD TV?

Hello again folks. I am back (not that I went anywhere).
Well, it is time again to rail against government stupidity. This time I am not targeting Bush, just part of his administration. I am targeting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and their departing chairman Michael Powell (I think he is Colin Powell's son).
It would seem that a little while ago, and unbeknownst to the general populace, the FCC passed a measure requiring those who broadcast or manufacture digital media to add a "broadcast flag" to the media content. What I mean is that those folks who broadcast digital tv or who make DVDs will have to add a small, invisible software tag to the broadcast or to the DVD. That tag will not be noticed by you, the consumer, in most cases. The place where you will notice it is when you decide that you want to burn the latest episode of your favorite show to DVD (think "record to videotape") or you want to make a backup copy of your kids' favorite DVD so that when the original gets trashed, you don't have to spend another $15 or $20 to buy a new copy. The broadcast flag will not let you make a copy. How it does this is rather complicated, but in simplest terms the software that controls the playback of the DVD or digital recording will not allow you to make a copy of that recording. Now I may not make a great many digital recordings, but I do know that this is a violation of the "Fair Usage" clause of US copyright laws. Fair Usage is the cluase in copyright laws that allows someone to copy a page from a book when doing a report or make a backup copy of a CD so, that when the original gets scratched, you don't have to go buy a new one. Fair usage is also what allows someone to quote a passage from a book, or webpage, or the like without getting sued. So, since the FCC has initiated the end of fair usage, and I want to be within the law, I have decided that from now on anyone who copies anything from this blog, quotes anything I say, or uses any part of this blog in any manner is going to get the hell sued out of them! (Not really, but this is the type of thing that can, and will happen without fair usage). Just imagine that you are a prosecuter who has someone on trial for making a threatening statement. Naturally you will want to use that person's statement to make your case. Oh damn, too bad, you can't. Using the person's statement would be a violation of both the person's intellectual property rights and the copyright laws as dictated by the FCC! I guess you are shit out of luck. However, if fair usage still existed, you, the prosecuter, would still be allowed to use the statement and get the conviction. But since fair usage no longer exists, now the best you can hope for is that the defendent doesn't sue the hell out of you! This is an extreme example of what can happen without fair usage (and some would argue that statements against penal interest are exempt). The point is that supposedly everything that someone says, writes, or creates, is owned (copyright-wise) by that person. If there is no fair usage clause, no one can ever say "Hi" to anyone without violating someone's copyright and therefore opening themselves up to a lawsuit. Now wouldn't that be a lovely world?!!?
This move by the FCC isn't the FCC's doing so much as it is the manipulation of the FCC by people like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). You may have heard of these groups before. The highest profile thing that the MPAA is known for is movie ratings (the G, PG, R ratings at the beginning of movies) and for aiding in the preservation of old movies. Both things are commendable. Lately, to combat the problem of piracy via the Internet, the MPAA has been taking a page from the RIAA's playbook and suing the larger Internet pirates. You may have also heard of the RIAA. This group represents the recording industry. Their most notable or high profile things have been to sue the bejesus out of several hundred "Internet pirates." You know those folks who threaten to bring down the entire recording industry. People like a 12 year old from New York City who lives in low income housing and wanted to share a song or two with her friends, or like the 10 (or 11) year old from Miami whose father (a construction worker who worked long hours) didn't supervise every minute that the kid was online. You know, those folks who make Bin Laden look positively tame! (I am being sarcastic here). Of course, I only went to Pitt, so maybe it is my lack of an ivy league education, but what business model teaches that suing your customers is good for business??? I don't know, maybe it is my practical nature, but the last time I checked, suing your customers only made them dislike you! The challenge for both the MPAA and the RIAA isn't to stop Internet piracy (got news for ya guys, you will never stop it), but to make money off the music downloading phenomenon. Instead of trying to catch everyone who trades a song, sell the right to use that song to them. That is what i-Tunes does. Of course, the idea behind the suits is the same flawed thinking that makes the government think, that after 30 years, several billion dollars wasted, and several thousand people jailed (mostly for minor drug violations), they are winning the war on drugs. Do you know what that flawed thinking is called? Anyone, anyone? It is called "stupidity".
Unfortunately, I have gotten off on a tangent. I wanted to use this space to tell you about the coming broadcast flags and I went off on a tangent about the MPAA and RIAA. Well, back to the original item. The other day I got my latest copy of the "Effector" (the Electronic Frontier Foundation's newsletter) and it contained a link to a good article on what these broadcast flags mean to the average person. The article is called "Michael Powell's Invisible Legacy" and is by J.D. Lasica. It is a very good article on exactly how these broadcast flags will effect things like your DVD player (or recorder), your TiVO, and/or your HD TV receiver. I urge you to read it so that you will know what is coming. If you don't want the things described in the article to occur, I urge you to write to you senator or congressman and tell them to make a change to the rule.

The article can be found at: Reason.com

If you live in Pennsylvania, your senators can be reached at:
Hon. Rick Santorum
511 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph. (202)224-6324

OR

Hon. Arlen Specter
711 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Ph. (202)224-4254

OR
Via the Internet at:
Rick Santorum (is a web contact form)
Arlen Specter's email is arlen_specter@specter.senate.gov

You will need to look up your individual US Representative's as there are too many districts to list here.

You can also contact the Federal Communications Commission at their main contacts webpage and go from there.

As always, I am Chuck and this has been my rant. Oh, and remember, you cannot quote or use anything from this page without being sued (not even with fair usage. The FCC says it doesn't exist, remember!)