Short posts today, midterm coming up in conlaw. Xeni at BoingBoing reports that the House is considering legislation to reform us copyright law:
Finally, the bill would loosen the grip of the DMCA, which restricts circumvention of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions even for lawful uses. The FAIR Use Act adds 12 exemptions, including the ability to circumvent for classic fair use purposes like news reporting, research, commentary, and criticism.
For the last 20 years, all the changes in copyright law have been made to the advantage of large corporate copyright holders, to the disadvantage of individuals and the public domain. It’s too early to know for sure, but this looks like a step in the right direction.
