[free-sklyarov] party?

[Don Marti]

begin Seth David Schoen quotation of Thu, Dec 19, 2002 at 08:35:25AM -0800:

> I'm exploring the possibility of having a party to celebrate the
> Elcomsoft verdict in San Franisco on Saturday.  Can I get a sense of
> how many people would be interested in coming?

This party is our solemn duty as part of the "declare victory"
strategy and to kick off the next round of DMCA reform.  If it
happens, and I'm not there, you can assume I'm dead.

The Elcomsoft verdict is much better than DMCA-mongers are trying to
make it sound.

This verdict clearly represents a giant glowing neon Jury
Nullification of the anticircumvention provisions of the DMCA. A
blanket anticircumvention law, no matter how logical it may seem
to Bruce Lehman, is so unjust that if you pick 12 random citizens
and present it to them, they'll reject it.

We The People say to the copyright cartels: this goes too far.
Yes, it's not technically a "jury nullification" because the jury
had that whole "willful" thing to hang its verdict on.  But what
does it say about a law when it's so counterintuitive and unjust
that it's reasonable not to believe in it?

Not convinced? This should convince you: my hopeful interpretation --
that the jury rejected the DMCA -- is exactly the opposite of what
DMCA proponents want you to think. They're desperately, frantically
spinning it to say that the acquital is merely the result of fine
lawyering by Joseph Burton, and an ever-so-exciting spat over
the meaning of "willful", but fair use was never an issue. And
innovators had better watch out because future DMCA prosecutions
can come at any time.

They're wrong.

The acquital is something we can take to Congress. "Look, people don't
think laws against circumvention should apply to non-infringers. Please
reform the DMCA to reflect this."

Even if the next round of the Lofgren and/or Boucher reform bill
fails, it gets the "DMCA suppresses free speech and fair use"
meme in front of the next group of potential jurors.

Anti-DMCA advocacy makes a difference. Making "the DMCA" into "the
controversial DMCA" was worth the sunburn and sore throats. We can't
stop now.

We must party.

Seth, I'm with you.

-- 
Don Marti
http://zgp.org/~dmarti
dmarti at zgp.org
KG6INA