Web Copyright Thoughts

Hi folks - 

I joined the group because I'm interested in participating in a discussion
on copyright reform on the Web and how W3C can play a role in bringing
consensus together on this issue. However, I have to take issue with the
introductory text ("charter") if the group. Why is it necessary to to cast
this effort as "anti-DRM." I don't think you have to be anti-DRM to be
pro-copyright reform.

I myself am not anti-DRM, and for the record I am not against the EME
proposal in the current proposed HTML charter (neither personally nor as
A.C. rep for Telefónica).

However, I (as an individual and as a citizen of this planet) am concerned
about a number of issues linked to copyright and distribution of
information and media.  I think these issues have been conflated with DRM
technology in peoples' minds because DRM is used to enforce copyright
restrictions.

Areas I think need some focus:

1. Byzantine regional distribution rights regimes that restrict people in
one location from viewing Web content otherwise available in another
location (Hulu, BBC iPlayer)

2. The concept of Fair Use not being universally codified in law and
systematically undermined when it is so codified (sometimes
through application of DRM technology, sometimes through use of take-down
notices and other legal tactics) [1]

3. The portability of content from one (vendor's) platform to another -
e.g. eBooks, video

4. The media literacy of most Web denizens with regard to copyright and
the inability to explicitly attach licenses such as Creative Commons to
commonly produced content (such as social network posts)

5. The chilling trend of governments enacting legislation that makes
copyright and DRM circumvention an ever more egregious[2] crime in the yes
of the law (which leads to government-patrolled Web blacklists of sites
like Pirate Bay all the way to situations like Aaron Schwartz).

Working together within the W3C community (including those members of the
community who are not anti-DRM) to reach consensus on some of these issues
and others would be a good thing.

Dan

[1] http://bit.ly/1e7Nftn


[2] side note: I just looked up "egregious" in the built in dictionary on
the
Mac to make sure I was using it correctly and the usage example given was
"Egregious abuses of copyright." - so yeah, I'm using it correctly.

Received on Wednesday, 9 October 2013 07:45:32 UTC