Running around like Chicken Little with its head cut off
July 29, 2004 on 9:08 am | In Copyrights |An interesting post this morning by Ernie The Attorney on the INDUCE Act. Ernie states that he “not a fan of the INDUCE Act” and likewise is “not a fan of the whole ‘chicken little’ approach that some opponents of the INDUCE Act are taking. When you try to get people’s attention by saying that the INDUCE Act threatens the iPod you just lose credibility.”
He raises some legitimate points…but I (personally) don’t think the threat to the iPod is in making it iPods illegal but in making Apple (and others) scared enough of suit that they change the functionality and convenience of the iPod (or their other products).
What does “that” mean? Maybe you wouldn’t be able to copy files off the iPod (make a backup), maybe you could only copy to the iPod from an original CD (you couldn’t just copy an existing .mp3 file to the unit), maybe you’d have to use digital rights management, maybe….etc.
Look at TiVo. TiVo is so paranoid about suit from the “industry” that the box (the newer Series 2 boxes) are locked down like Fort Knox, making it impossible (unless you are some l337 h4×0r) to copy digital recordings to a computer. TiVo is so scared of “the industry” that they don’t dare enable a 30 second skip by default or introduce the ability to skip commercials. An example of “the industry” as it applies to TiVo pressure can be found in my earlier post about Tivo, the NFL and the MPAA.
You can’t tell me that “industry” if they had INDUCE Act power wouldn’t pressure Apple (and the other “chicken little” concerns) into modifying their devices (to the detriment of user ease of use). Thus, I agree that iPods are not going away anytime soon…, but I think the Act, if enacted, would have some unforeseen consequences to the ease of use of many electronic devices we all use. For that reason…I say: run Chicken Little, run….
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