Something Just does not sound right……

Alright, so I’m getting really peeved. I hope you’ll indulge me for one more
day.

We all understand, of course, that North Carolina is the entertainment capitol
of the world, right? Glitz, glamour - tobacco fields. Hmmm, something about that

just doesn’t sound right.

While you digest that, let’s talk about “fair use.” It’s a long-held legal
principal that gives consumers the right to “sell or otherwise dispose” of
recordings. Fair use means that if you tape the “Anna Nicole
Show“, you’re allowed an extra dose of thorazine. No, really. Alright, fair
use really means that you can pass that episode along to a friend if you choose.

Or, if you’re really into Anna, you’re allowed to make a backup copy of the tape

for safekeeping. You know - for the safe deposit box. Alongside the Rolex and
the bearer bonds.

Stay with me, here. There is a connection lurking

The Fair Use provision of the Copyright Act is, admittedly, a bit vague. It
does, however, exempt from copyright infringement the reproduction of a
copyrighted work that is ” … intended for purposes such as criticism, comment,

news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use),
scholarship, or research … ” In other words, if Junior’s drama teacher wants
to incorporate that Anna Nicole tape into the class curriculum, or even
distribute it to all the students, he or she is free to do so without fear of
the Copyright police bursting into the classroom. Although, they might still be
subject to a brutal interrogation by the taste police.

So what’s the connection, here? The Honorable Howard Coble, United States House
of Representatives, North Carolina Sixth District has co-sponsored a bill that
would sharply limit your right to tape TV shows, copy music or transfer files on

the Internet. Coble, you see, is the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee’s
Subcomittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property. He’s jumped into
the fair use fray with Representative Howard Berman of California, the
co-sponsor of the bill. In Berman’s case, the industry connection is obvious.
Short of his Chairmanship, Coble’s role is really a mystery.

The legislation Coble and Berman have introduced is, to say the least,
dangerous. It tightens fair use to a point that genuinely risks cutting the
heart of the principle completely away. And, to support the stripping of fair
use from copyright law, their legislation releases copyright holders from
liability for any damange they may cause your computer or data if they take
electronic countermeasures to protect their copyright. Read, “We can break
into your computer without fear of reprisal if we suspect you’ve made
copies of our works.” Does this sound frightening to you?

I think we’re an easier bunch than most to single out. We generally don’t take
much interest in politics, choosing instead to work, play, or (in my case) live
at the computer, heads down. But the alarm on this one has been sounded by many,

and by many with much bigger voices than my own.

So, if you really have to give away that copy of the Anna Nicole Show, you know
what to do. Contact your Representative in the House. More importanly, contact
them if you’re concerned about giving the entertainment industry a free pass
into your machine. Mere suspicion has never been sufficient. That’s why there’s
“probable cause” and the process that precedes any action taken based upon it.
Fair use is a recognized fundamental element of copyright law, and its
curtailing could jeopardize far more than we realize today.