<nettime> Fwd: [archivists] DMCA exemption sought to allow saving of PC software from decay

[Bruce Sterling <bruces {AT} well.com>]

*DMCA gruesomely expunges our cultural history
*"Hey, if it's not generating revenue for us,
then it can't matter very much" -- bruces

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Brewster Kahle <brewster {AT} archive.org>
> Date: Sat Dec 21, 2002  12:17:15 AM US/Central
> To: archivists {AT} yahoogroups.com, archivists-talk {AT} yahoogroups.com
> Cc: AMacgillivray {AT} wsgr.com
> Subject: [archivists] DMCA exemption sought to allow saving of PC software 
> from decay
>
>
> Early PC software is about to decay and it is not clear we are allowed to 
> save it.    The anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA may prevent 
> libraries from saving some of the most creative works of the 20th century 
> from being lost.
>
> "We are in a digital dark age" as Danny Hillis put it.   We hope the 
> Librarian of Congress recognizes the problem and corrects it in time.
>
> Internet Archive, Harvard, and Creative Commons submitted a "comment" on 
> the DMCA seeking an exception to allow us to save software.
>    ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/copyright/1201/2003/comments/025.pdf
>    some other interesting comments are also at:
>    http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2003/comments/index.html
>
> As I understand it,  there will be an opportunity for people to "reply" to 
> support the comment.   The best case would be other libraries and archives 
> that have software or cdrom's in their collections.
>
> If you are interested in helping by writing a "reply", please contact the 
> pro-bono lawyer on this:
>   Alex Macgillevray    AMacgillivray {AT} wsgr.com
>
> I thank Alex Macgillivray, Lawrence Lessig, Wendy Seltzer, and many others 
> who helped draft this comment.    It is wonderful that such powerful 
> lawyers are working without fee to help libraries.   It is a shame that it 
> is necessary.
>
> -brewster
>
> Digital Librarian
> Internet Archive

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