Anti-DMCA Group Splits Off from Linux User Group in NYC
Linux Journal reports that free software advocates broke away from the Linux user group community in New York City to lobby for the repeal of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Representatives of the new organization, NY Fair Use, reportedly go door-to-door in certain Congressional districts within New York City explaining the threat posed to individuals and public libraries by the planned use of Digital Rights Management Systems.
The most interesting aspect of the entire NY Fair Use organization is their legislative agenda that says, among other things:
...we need a law which explicitly makes clear that a normal
retail transaction for a physical copy of any media gives possession
as property of that disk to the purchaser of the disk, just like it
does with a pair of shoes.
If you thought that buying a VCR tape or a DVD at Wal-Mart meant that you "own" a copy of the movie, you probably should. But, the producers of the movie are fighting hard in Washington DC to change copyright law to take away most of your ownership rights.