From: Steve Schear <schear@lvcm.com>
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1998 06:39:34 +0800
To: Jim Choate <ravage@einstein.ssz.com>
Subject: Re: A question about the new ISP ruling and email... (fwd)
In-Reply-To: <199811080408.WAA04069@einstein.ssz.com>
Message-ID: <v04003a01b26bb1b9917d@[24.1.50.17]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



>>        `(B) accommodates and does not interfere with standard
>> technical measures.
>>
>>           `(2) DEFINITION- As used in this subsection, the term
>> `standard technical measures' means technical measures that are used
>> by copyright owners to identify or protect copyrighted works and--
>>
>>      `(A) have been developed pursuant to a broad consensus of
>> copyright owners and service providers in an open, fair, voluntary,
>> multi-industry standards process;
>
>So this is voluntary?
>
>>     `(B) are available to any person on reasonable and
>> nondiscriminatory terms; and
>
>Meaning they themselves aren't copyrighted?
>
>>    `(C) do not impose substantial costs on service providers or
>> substantial burdens on their systems or
>> networks.
>
>Imposition of *any* cost is a substantial burden.

And this is where we should fight them. When the CDA was struck down one of
the compelling arguments accepted by the court was that it was way too
costly for information providers to police those accessing their sites. The
same argument can easily be made for posted materials, especially the huge
Usenet feed.

--Steve