Re: What Microsoft wants for your future

From: Hal Finney (hal@finney.org)
Date: Wed Mar 12 2003 - 12:05:34 MST

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    Charles Hixson writes, regarding Microsoft's RMS technology:

    > The nifty thing is that since this is a device to control access, the
    > DMCA would make illegal for people to build a device, say a competing
    > word processor, that could read the same format. No just to use it on
    > their own files, but even to design it.

    The DMCA is a very problematic law that gets in the way of many things
    that should be allowed. But from what I understand it, it does have an
    exemption for reverse engineering for purposes of compatibility:

         REVERSE ENGINEERING... a person who has lawfully obtained the right
         to use a copy of a computer program may circumvent a technological
         measure that effectively controls access to a particular portion
         of that program for the sole purpose of identifying and analyzing
         those elements of the program that are necessary to achieve
         interoperability of an independently created computer program with
         other programs...

    http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/hr2281_dmca_law_19981020_pl105-304.html

    Of course IANAL and there may be some subtleties that I am overlooking,
    but it appears that Congress intended there to be a loophole in the
    DMCA for the specific purpose of reverse engineering for compatibility.
    So the DMCA probably would not prevent the specific purpose Charles
    describes above.

    Hal



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