Cyberpolitics

• Computer industry tries to make computer or any electronic devices only trust DRM materials. By this measures, old materials that does not employ DRM cannot be used in new devices. In the implementation, usually a particular ID is given to all products, and thus people could be traced by such ID. Also, people lose their control to the devices.

• Sony’s DRM on their CDs forced users to play the CD with their own softwares in computer. It was later found that the software contains spyware, which steal users’ personal information. Sony was ruled to let customers exchange new discs, give penalties to customers, never does such harm to customer again and put spyware cleaner in their website for two years.

• Many music and movie resaler has voice out that DRM is not a successful business model, including Steve Jobs from Apple iTune and Ian Rogers from Yahoo! Music. One basic argument is that DRM does not add value to customer. Rather than that, DRM lower the value to purchasing CD/DVD, making purchasing CD/DVD becomes even less competitive than piracy.

• Current DRM systems are dominated by a few IT giant companies. They design their own DRM system, such that customer must use particular device to play or use the media. For example, the DRMed music on iTune can only be played on iPod. European Union has ruled that Apple must let the DRM technology open to other companies, so that it does not lead to anit-competition.
• Cyberport advocate OpenDRM, which is a vendor free DRM. Is it good for customer?

• By the very basic principle of copyright law, it is to protect expressions of ideas, but not protecting business. Thus copyright law provides fairuse or fair dealing, which are exceptions of using copyright works so that won’t bounded reasonable usage of works or limit follow-up creations. But with DRM, these exceptions cannot be implemented, as they are not able to quantized to computer programs.

• We used to own a product when we buy it. With DRM, we only has limited right to use the product. For example, for DRMed CD, we only has the right to play the CD, but not making backup, or converting them to MP3.

• DRM technology ban several usage to the materials thus usually forbid derivate work. However, Copyright do allows some derivative work right, such as Parody. In an economic point of view, copyrighted work produce value when people consume it, and also when people derivate more work from it, forbidding derivate work reduce the value.

• only the developer knows how to read/write this format (e.g. Microsoft Office)

• the format specfication is open to public, anyone may understand and implementing such format (e.g. ODF)

• the opennesss guarantees the document can be read even the developing vendor closed down (no Vendor Lock-in)
• as anyone can implement the format, more people can involved in developing programs for that, helping the improvment of working environment

• developed by OASIS, a organization to design open file format
• now used by OpenOffice, StarOffice, K Office etc.
• approved by ISO on 2006

• developed by Microsoft
• submitting for ISO

• OOXML is only developed and used by Microsoft. Actually, there is no full implementation for OOXML yet, not even the latest MS Office.
• duplicated ISO open document format will cause confusion
• many functions are not explained in OOXML specification, such that implementing OOXML will need MS support. There is no guarantee that implementing OOXML will not violate MS patent.
• Microsoft admit that they pay to ISO voters, in order to let OOXML pass ISO.

Hong Kong Case Studies: Digital copyrights consultation

1. The criminalization of all downloading activities except from cachePushing BT case forward: uploading of seed file and its debate

2. The protection of copyright works transmitted to the public via all forms of communication technology, such as the transmitting of CD to MP3

i.e: format shifting, Digital rights management

3. Pressure to the Online Service Providers for releasing users’ information and introducing filtering technologyThe issue of piracy and censorship

4. Statutory Damages for Copyright Infringement

The issue of harm

Reference

DRM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryXDhXqR-SE

Open Sources -> Commuist? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twAyI4LPk0Y

Open Sources + Commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfkucaGv0oA