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Cary Sherman, RIAA President, has thoughts on the Digital Freedom Coalition -- the title The farce behind 'Digital Freedom' sort of telegraphs the punch:
The [Consumer Electronic Association's] primary concern is not consumers, but technology companies--often large, multinational corporations which, like us, strive to make a profit. A moneymaking mission is perfectly acceptable. After all, it is this funding that enables progress in technology and opportunities for creativity. But to seize the mantra of "consumer rights" to advance that business interest is simply disingenuous. And to do it at the expense of creators' right to be compensated for their work is short-sighted. His conclusion:
The "Digital Freedom" campaign claims that the entertainment industry's goal is to "outlaw new digital technology and devices." This kind of knowingly false and incendiary rhetoric is designed to distort the issue and thwart solutions by demonizing us. The fact is, we are not only music fans, but technology fans, too. We celebrate advances in technology and recognize the importance of finding new ways to deliver content.
Instead of redefining fair use to promote a short-term free-for-all, let's embrace the existing concept to allow for long-term growth of technology, while valuing and protecting the content it carries. That benefits us all. I agree. The underlying problem is that the huge stock of existing music can be pillaged and used to sell electronic toys during the next few quarters. Soon, of course, the supply would dry up and the toy sellers would have a problem because no one would have an incentive to buy their toys-- but they regard this as a problem for their successors.
The task of effective public policy to to support and protect1 property rights so that the market can transition smoothly to means of content delivery and new business models.
posted by James DeLong @ 2:44 PM | Access: Commons, Fair Use, Orphan Works, Public Domain
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