IP Justice Media Release
Contact: Robin Gross, Executive Director, IP Justice
robin@ipjustice.org +1 415.863.5459
May 15, 2003
IP Justice Asks Copyright Office to Empower Digital Media Purchasers
Proposes Exemptions to Allow Users to Access DVDs, CDs, and Ebooks on Devices They Choose
Los Angeles - IP Justice today asked the U.S. Copyright Office to allow lawful purchasers to circumvent access controls that prevent them from enjoying DVDs how and where they choose. Testimony yesterday from IP Justice requested exemptions for owners of music CDs who must bypass controls in order to hear their music collections. IP Justice is an international civil liberties organization focusing on global intellectual property issues.
“Copyright owners increasingly embed technological restrictions on DVDs, CDs, and eBooks that interfere with an individual’s right and ability to use their property in lawful ways,” said Robin Gross, IP Justice Founder and Executive Director. “In order to protect eroding consumer rights, the Copyright Office should recommend exemptions to permit digital media owners to bypass access controls so people can watch their DVDs on independently created players, listen to CDs on personal computers, and read their eBooks on laptop computers,” Gross explained.
The request came at a hearing to determine whether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) impeded non-infringing uses of copyrighted materials since it outlaws bypassing access controls on digital media. The DMCA requires the Copyright Office to examine this issue every three years and issue exemptions that permit impeded users to access their digital entertainment. IP Justice filed comments with the Copyright Office in December, proposing six exemptions to allow consumers to circumvent access controls that tether E-Books, DVDs and CDs to certain devices or platforms that prevent access to lawful use of their property.
Students at Stanford University Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic assisted in the preparation of the IP Justice comments and testimony, supervised by Center for Internet and Society Assistant Director and attorney Lauren Gelman. Fall semester Cyberlaw Clinic student Mia Garlick delivered today’s testimony requesting DVD exemptions for IP Justice. Ms. Garlick worked on the comments as part of her course work in the clinic and has been interning with IP Justice since then.
“During the first rulemaking, movie studio executives promised the Copyright Office a DVD player for the Linux operating system was about to be introduced to the public, so no exemption was warranted. Three years later, the Linux DVD player remains unavailable and if anyone tried to build one, they’d be in violation of the DMCA,” stated Ms. Garlick.
“These proceedings highlight the massive thievery of individual rights taking place from large media giants imposing technological restrictions on people,” Gross said. “Even if exemptions are granted to permit digital media owners to bypass the controls, the tools necessary to engage in that circumvention remain illegal under the DMCA,” she explained.