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cc-licenses - Re: [cc-licenses] Version 3.0 - List Discussion Responses

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Subject: Development of Creative Commons licenses

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  • From: Terry Hancock <hancock AT anansispaceworks.com>
  • To: Discussion on the Creative Commons license drafts <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [cc-licenses] Version 3.0 - List Discussion Responses
  • Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:39:16 -0500

Greg London wrote:
So, what you have yet to make clear here, is if DRM Dave can use DRM
to become the sole source of a work that plays on some DRM platform.
If the solution is "parallel distribution", but the DMCA says only
Dave can circumvent his DRM, then does not that mean that Alice
cannot provide the exact same work in DRM-friendly format for the DRM
platform?

Okay, maybe I see what your point is, but I'm not sure. Why would you think that Alice would NOT be entitled to apply her own DRM to the work? What's preventing her from doing that? Certainly not the license.

Let's examine the assumptions ...

Dave is able to apply DRM because he has licensed a DRM key from the Platform Owner.

Alice, presumeably, can get the same license from the same Platform Owner.

If so, Dave has no "privileged" position relative to Alice, but both are deprived of freedoms we take for granted on free platforms: they both must pay for the right to distribute DRM'd files on a DRM-only platform.

Now, of course, it maybe that the Platform Owner is not fair in selling licenses, and discriminated unfairly against Alice (perhaps charging her extra, or not selling her a license at all). The most important case of this would probably be if Dave is actually the DRM licensor (i.e. in real-life, if it is iTunes who distributes the iTunes-DRM'd version of a song). Maybe this is the problem case.

Presumeably, Dave is contractually obligated not to share his key, so he can't legally give out the key along with the file in order to allow the DRM'd version to be updated.

Alice *does* have access to the clear version of the file, so if she does acquire a DRM key of her own, she can apply it to her version.

I think parallel distribution advocates are assuming that access to DRM-keys is not so onerous or unfair as that. And I imagine that Evan has not been "evading" this question, so much as not understanding the point you're trying to make, Greg.

ISTM, this may be similar to the case of free software being ported to proprietary platforms, based on proprietary compilers (e.g. Visual C for Windows).

Okay, I don't have an answer to this as yet.

Terry

--
Terry Hancock (hancock AT AnansiSpaceworks.com)
Anansi Spaceworks http://www.AnansiSpaceworks.com





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