At the International Consumer Electronics Show last month, CEA President Gary Shapiro gave a not-too-surprising speech dealing with copyright that included the usual generalizations and misleading statements. It was business as usual really, but Warner Bros. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Barry Mayer believes that even when predictable, no inaccurate assessment of copyright should go unchallenged. He's right, of course, and so those of us who attended the Directors' Luncheon at MPAA's Business of Show Business conference yesterday were treated to an inspiring address. You didn't need to have heard Shapiro's speech, because Meyer took the liberty of reading from it. Then he would stop and thoroughly rebut each passage. For example:

* Meyer quoted Shapiro saying that there shouldn't be limits on technology, and that limits can "smother" access to content. Noting that the motion picture industry has a history of embracing early new technologies, he said "we have no interest in limiting or smothering consumers' access to our work even if technology changes our business models." The industry continues to see merit in defined windows, and won't accept unlimited viral distribution or free content, but that sitll leaves a wide variety of business models.
* Meyer further quoted Shapiro as calling DRM "draconian." While admitting DRM is "easy to demonize," Meyer said the technology was nothing more than an attempt to help creators maintain some control over their creation: "Rules of order and law are not a bad thing."
* Meyer quoted Shapiro as saying consumers are frustrated. "He's right," Meyer said, but the frustration comes from technology companies creating incompatible hardware and software. He noted his company has come out with a disc that combines HD DVD and Blue-Ray standards so it can play on both machines.
* Meyer quoted Shapiro on piracy as saying "it may be unauthorized but that doesn't mean it's piracy." Meyer's response: "The idea that creators surrender rights over their content just because they put it in the market" is nonsensical.

Meyer had a final retort to Shapiro that couldn't be rebutted by the CEA. It's natural for Shapiro to promote CE products, and ensure that those devices receive market protection. But Meyer doubted anyone today could get their hands on a Commodore 64, a TRS-80 or a Betamax. Yet movies from that time, such as "Tootsie" and "Chariots of Fire," are still viewed regularly in different ways.

There's merit in policymakers weighing the lasting merit and contribution to culture of CE products vs. creative works when considering copyright law.