If the DMCA act gets snuck in over here (which is highly likely), what will that mean for Linux in schools?
Personally, I think that this whole copyright thing is weird. MS often use the "intellectual property" argument to support their licensing features etc--which translated means "protecting their profit". This is all very
Also they like to call open source "Anti-American" when things such as the GPL have more in common with the section of the US constitution which allows things like copyright to exist in the US than anything Microsoft have ever come up with.
well, but where do consumer rights fit in here? What does the DMCA promise in the way of consumer protection? Another example of this question in
In theory it's ment to protect authors, but in practice the people who have most interests are publishers.
action is the MSN network ISP service. When you sign up, you effectively give MS full control over any content you post. They say it becomes "theirs"!! Where's the consumer's "intellectual property rights" there then?
Exactly, something like the DMCA (and the WIPO treaty on which it is based) should render such a clause void. And allow an individual to persue Microsoft for "copyright infringement". (Using all the heavy handed tactics available, including sending paramilitary police to arrest Mr Gates.) -- Mark Evans St. Peter's CofE High School Phone: +44 1392 204764 X109 Fax: +44 1392 204763