From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S261874AbTD0WYH (ORCPT ); Sun, 27 Apr 2003 18:24:07 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S261886AbTD0WYH (ORCPT ); Sun, 27 Apr 2003 18:24:07 -0400 Received: from smtp.bitmover.com ([192.132.92.12]:49551 "EHLO smtp.bitmover.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S261874AbTD0WYA (ORCPT ); Sun, 27 Apr 2003 18:24:00 -0400 Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2003 15:36:12 -0700 From: Larry McVoy To: Alan Cox Cc: Larry McVoy , Linux Kernel Mailing List Subject: Re: Why DRM exists [was Re: Flame Linus to a crisp!] Message-ID: <20030427223612.GI23068@work.bitmover.com> Mail-Followup-To: Larry McVoy , Alan Cox , Larry McVoy , Linux Kernel Mailing List References: <20030424083730.5F79A2127F@dungeon.inka.de> <20030424085913.GH28253@mail.jlokier.co.uk> <3EA804A8.8070608@techsource.com> <1051209350.4004.6.camel@dhcp22.swansea.linux.org.uk> <20030424192941.E1425@almesberger.net> <20030427142106.GA24244@merlin.emma.line.org> <20030427165959.GC6820@work.bitmover.com> <1051479168.15485.12.camel@dhcp22.swansea.linux.org.uk> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <1051479168.15485.12.camel@dhcp22.swansea.linux.org.uk> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4i X-MailScanner-Information: Please contact the ISP for more information X-MailScanner: Found to be clean X-MailScanner-SpamCheck: not spam, SpamAssassin (score=0.5, required 4.5, DATE_IN_PAST_06_12) Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org > > factor in the emergence of the DMCA and DRM efforts. This community > > thinks it is perfectly acceptable to copy anything that they find useful. > > Take a look at some of the recent BK flamewars and over and over you > > will see people saying "we'll clone it". That's not unique to BK, > > Build something making the same things possible and then more. But then > thats exactly what BK did. Does that make you a crook ? If I had been sitting there with a copy of clearcase or reverse engineering from the data stored by clearcase, I'm pretty sure rational would have something to say about it. But you are still missing the point. As long as the feeling is that it is OK to reverse engineer by staring at the file formats, the corporations will respond by encrypting the data you want to stare at. In other words, it's pretty much hopeless to try and catch up that way, you might as well go try and build something better from the start. -- --- Larry McVoy lm at bitmover.com http://www.bitmover.com/lm