copyright issues

**D* G* <d*@xplornet.com>**

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to have dinner with a few fellow list
members and while it was a far-ranging discussion, one of the topics
caught my attention and I've been thinking about it ever since.

The most important and experienced of us there :-) asked given that I
worked almost exclusively on the Net, what did I think about copyright
issues.  And I had to confess I hadn't given them much thought.  Another
listmember emailed  and asked last week about how I protected my images
on my new photography blog and I had to confess I wasn't but I was
"thinking" about it.

Lots of thinking and very little action in other words...

So this morning, this little tidbit comes across my rss reader.

http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2007/05/10/afx3708595.html

It's a Forbes article that essentially says Media Rights Technology and
Bluebeat - a company that produces DRM software (copyright protection
software) is suing Microsoft and Adobe because their software ignores
the MRT/Bluebeat DRM software.  

The DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act that controls your net writing
now) says that circumventing DRM software is illegal - by legal logic of
some kind, this means that all MS and Adobe software that ignores or
circumvents their software is illegal.

Trying to make that even simpler - the company is saying that because we
have a copyright product - and MS and Adobe don't use it/ignore it -
that they are breaking the DMCA and copyright legislation by
circumventing it.  A bit of circular logic but it's going to court.

So, in answer to my dinner partners I still have no idea where copyright
issues are going on the Net. I do have a right click javascript in place
on my photography blog right now but am working on another system that
will be more visitor friendly.

But the point of this note - I'm getting to it - is to find out what you
folks think of copyright issues and where the DMCA is taking us.  

Or have you thought about it? 

Doug

-- 
Doug Green
Internet Publishing for the Hort Industry
Home: http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com
Blog: http://www.douggreensgarden.com

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