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Submission from Christian Charette received on July 24, 2001 2:06 PM via e-mail
Subject: Copyright laws
I am deeply concerned about copyright laws and their effects on freedom of privacy and free speech. The US government, through the DMCA, has illustrated what must NOT happen here.
FREEDOM OF PRIVACY:
Software companies are pushing tighter and tighter restrictions on what they consider fair use of their products
in the name of copyright protection. Microsoft is a good example, with WindowsXP to be released soon, which
incorporates an activation system inside their software.
After I purchase a product (be it a software application or a bicycle), I should be free to use it as I see fit. This means that I should be able to purchase one with cash in complete anonymity. If I so choose, I should be free to decide whether or not to fill in a registration card for the company to validate my warranty. The fact that I will soon have to call Microsoft and provide them with personal information (name, address, occupation, etc) every time I decide to change my computer's configuration to activate their product (which is often, since I also perform hardware testing as a hobby) scares me. Imagine if Microsoft decides that I have changed my computer's configurations once too many times, and does not honor their software license to me?
If their anti-piracy system did not work in the past, this is none of my concern. I am not leasing their operating system, but have purchased it. After purchase, I should not have to provide ANY personal information to the Microsoft corporation in order for me to use the product. This is fair use of something I have bought. Nor should this agreement to relinquish personal information be part of the license agreement when installing the software. Microsoft holds a monopoly on PC operating system, and this type of conduct being enforced on all Canadians should not be tolerated.
FREE SPEECH:
I am also worried about free speech being affected by copyright laws. As it stands now in the US, the mere attempt to
break an encrypted algorithm is considered a criminal act. This is wrong.
If a company publishes a new encryption standard and claims it to be secure, I should be allowed to test the validity of their claim. I should be free as an individual to attempt to explore their software and publish any results that may come from my tests in a public forum (academic papers, print publications, internet discussion forums, etc) . If their software is indeed insecure, the public (i.e.: users/clients of the software) should be made aware that their purchase does not live up to standards. I should also be allowed to freely distribute decryption software to illustrate the weakness of their software design. So long as I publish in a public domain and not try to profit from my discoveries (for example, cracking into systems and stealing information, or selling decryption software for profit), this should be considered free speech.
The equivalent is a car manufacturer who creates a vehicle claiming you are safe from injury under any crash condition. If I so choose, I am allowed to buying a vehicle, test their claim, and free to publish the result. I should not have to worry of being jailed simply for attempting to validate a corporation's claim. The company still can come after me with a civil suit claiming that I have tarnished their reputation, etc, but criminal proceedings against an individual should be wrong.
While intellectual property and the ability to profit by them should be protected by copyright laws, these should always come AFTER the freedom of the individual. It is a dark day indeed when corporate rights overtakes individual private rights.
Christian Charette, Software Engineer
Simpler Networks Inc.
(Address removed)
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