[NTLUG:Discuss] MI2 boycott

[Steve Baker]

Ian Alexander wrote:
> 
> As per the vote at http://www.bigbrother.com, I'm trying to organize a
> protest against Mission Impossible 2, which comes out later this month
> (May 24).

The problem I have with protesting this is that I don't really blame
the MPAA for suing.  I believe that the law is wrong in this respect
but a commercial organization is perfectly within it's rights to
try to prosecute when they perceive that the law (however stupid)
is being broken.

The law needs to be changed.  If MPAA dropped the case, that
wouldn't change the law - and the next reverse engineering or
decryption case would simply get sued.  Either DeCSS has to
win the case and in some way get a legal decision that the
law is somehow invalid (unconstitutional or whatever) -
OR DeCSS has to lose and you have to write outraged letters
to whatever politicians can change that law. (Good Luck!)

Napster is a similar matter - whilst people would LIKE
music to be free - it isn't and if you encourage people
to steal it that's "A Bad Thing" - whether it's illegal
is something that had to be tested in court.  Now you
know the answer, if you really don't like it, you've got
to get the law changed - not get pissed at Metallica who
are only exercising their rights under the law.

IMHO, the reverse engineering and decryption laws are
stupid and should be repealed - but the copyright laws
are absolutely necessary if you want quality music, books,
poetry, software and movies to exist.

-- 
Steve Baker                  http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
sjbaker1 at airmail.net (home)  http://www.woodsoup.org/~sbaker
sjbaker at hti.com      (work)