[free-sklyarov] RE: FJIA etc

[Matthew Russotto]

David Haworth wrote:
On Wed, Nov 07, 2001 at 11:52:45AM -0500, Matthew Russotto wrote:
>     (B) a technological measure ''effectively controls access to a
>           work'' if the measure, in the ordinary course of its operation,
>           requires the application of information, or a process or a
>           treatment, with the authority of the copyright owner, to gain
>           access to the work.

> So what exactly is the "technological measure"?
> - If it's the "encrypted" file, it cannot be said in any sense to
>  "operate". What's more, the legal owner of an Ebook has the authority
>  of the copyright owner to apply a "process" to access the book.
>  AEBPR is such a process.

The technological measure is the encryption.  The process is decryption.
The
information is that available in the voucher.  The legality of _using_ AEBPR
isn't
in question in this case -- no user has yet been prosecuted.

>> Unfortunately, while the measure is ineffective in the real world, it
>> does seem to fall squarely under this clause.
>
> I agree that the DMCA's definition of "effective ..." is extremely nasty,
> but that doesn't mean that ther definition can't be dismantled and shown
> to have no legal force under certain circumstances.

Unfortunately, courts are extremely reluctant to read a law or section of a
law
as meaningless.  Unless of course the law purports to protect rights rather
than
take them away, as Judge Kaplan did with the DMCAs savings clause.