News Story ...(developers of VLC) consider themselves targeted...

[Anonymous]

French bill casts chill on open-source

Bill not yet a law, but developers are already feeling the squeeze
News Analysis by Peter Sayer

APRIL 14, 2006 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - On May 4, the French Senate will
debate a copyright bill that is widely expected to have a chilling
effect on the development and distribution of open-source software for
digital rights management (DRM) or P2P (peer-to-peer) file-sharing.
That's because the bill's provisions include a penalty of up to three
years in prison and a fine of $363,171 for publishing, distributing or
promoting software in France that is "manifestly intended" for the
unauthorized distribution of copyright works.

The developers of the open-source multimedia player VLC, which can read
DRM-protected DVDs, consider themselves targeted. But the legal
uncertainty over the term manifestly intended makes the bill's coverage
so broad that it could even cover the open-source Web server Apache,
which hosts over 60% of Web sites, opponents of the bill say.
Open-source projects are thought to be more vulnerable than commercial
operations because they typically have few resources at their disposal
to defend legal actions.

Read entire 4 page news story at
http://www.computerworld.com/news/2006/story/0,11280,110558,00.html?source=x10

 

[John Jay Smith]

The people must take their freedom really seriously...

People must stand up for open source....

 

[... et al.]

French bill casts chill on open-source

Bill not yet a law, but developers are already feeling the squeeze
News Analysis by Peter Sayer

APRIL 14, 2006 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - On May 4, the French Senate will
debate a copyright bill that is widely expected to have a chilling
effect on the development and distribution of open-source software for
digital rights management (DRM) or P2P (peer-to-peer) file-sharing.
That's because the bill's provisions include a penalty of up to three
years in prison and a fine of $363,171 for publishing, distributing or
promoting software in France that is "manifestly intended" for the
unauthorized distribution of copyright works.

The developers of the open-source multimedia player VLC, which can read
DRM-protected DVDs, consider themselves targeted. But the legal
uncertainty over the term manifestly intended makes the bill's coverage
so broad that it could even cover the open-source Web server Apache,
which hosts over 60% of Web sites, opponents of the bill say.

Q: But the legal uncertainty over the term /manifestly intended/ makes..

A: There's no way to rule innocent men.


The following qoute seems approprate;

"Did you really think we want those laws observed? We want them to be
broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy
scouts you're up against. We're after power and we mean it."

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government
has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't
enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a
crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking
laws."

"Who wants a nation of law abiding citizens? What's there in that for
anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed
nor enforced or objectively interpreted and you create a nation of
law-breakers and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system,
that's the game and once you understand it you'll be much easier to
deal with."

-- Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged" (1957)

 

[John Jay Smith]

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government
has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't
enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a
crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking
laws."

I am trying to understand if this is a joke or a Science fiction
statment.....

 

[... et al.]

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government
has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't
enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a
crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking
laws."

I am trying to understand if this is a joke or a Science fiction
statment.....

From <http://www.working-minds.com/ARquotes.htm>:

"Ayn Rand was one of the most inportant philosophers of the XXth
Century, and quotations from her work are both cogent and
thought-provoking. These bite-size pieces of her Objectivist philosophy
are taken from the wide-ranging elements of her career – fiction &
non-fiction writings, lectures, movie scripts, newspaper columns &
articles, and television & radio appearances."

I havn't read 'Atlas Shrugged', or a translation of it that i know of,
just came across that qoute some time ago.

IMO, good science fiction is, like philosophy, thought-provoking (and
both can be funny).

 

[John Jay Smith]

I agree with him.. but I would take it a step further...

they can "get rid" of you without even have to call you a criminal! lol

IMO, good science fiction is, like philosophy, thought-provoking (and both
can be funny).

Yes you are right.... I do some SF myself...

 

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=BBQ=AB?=]

I agree with him..

Who?

 

[... et al.]

Who?

She will not object anymore.

--
I must be lost: I've passed the point of no
return three times in the last hour.

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