Comment of Mark Meyer

From: mark <mark_meyer@bigfoot.com>
To: <104study@loc.gov>, <104study@ntia.doc.gov>
Date: 6/29/00 11:57AM
Subject: Comments on the DMCA, Sections 109 and 117 of the Copyright Act (June 5, 2000)

I work at an elementary school as the network administrator. One of the ways that we are able to reduce cost and still utilize technology in the school is by the donations of computers and computer software. One of the problems we have encountered is the receipt of copies of older programs that have been updated by the previous owners that will not run on the machines at the school as it is not the original machine that the software was run on. The software is old enough that it is no longer supported by the manufacturer, so we have no recourse but to toss the software. Many of the computers here (much of which was donated by corporations or individuals updating their equipment), as at most schools, are 386 or 486 computers that do not have CD or DVD drives. We are not able to run a CD or DVD based program on the machines, so the need for software that was designed for the machines is critical if we are to use the limited financial resources we have wisely. The suggestions we have received when trying to get support from the software developers include upgrading our equipment, purchasing the CD or DVD version, and so on in a similar vein.

And it is not always donated software which causes problems. The computers are used by those who have a great deal of knowledge to those who are learning how to turn on and off the computers. It is a quite common occurrence for me to have to go to a classroom to reinstall the operating system or a program because a student turned off the machine at the wrong time, turned off the power strip, hit the control-alt-delete combination because "Jimmy told me to because it was taking too long", or a file was deleted in error or on purpose to make room on a hard drive. There is frequent reinstallation of programs without the "proper" uninstallation of the damaged version occurring, as it cannot be performed. In some cases, this means that a program we paid several hundred dollars for a site license for can no longer be installed. When I have called to get information as to how to install it on the damaged machine, I have been told that we need to purchase additional licenses to reinstall the software - even though we have enough licenses for all the machines we are running the software on. We have the CD's and floppies which contain the programs get smashed, 'disappear', scratched, used as flying disks, get colored on, and all the variations that little creative minds can devise, and then are unable to reinstall a program later because the disk is not the one used in the original installation.

And if I am reading the articles and testimony of the MPAA v. 2600 case correctly, as we move in the next few years to all digital and no analog format devices, the fair use doctrine currently allowing the viewing of DVDs by classrooms for the purposes of education or as a reward for something outstanding will be prohibited by the view of the MPAA. It is my belief that the copyright law in effect prior to the DMCA was sufficient and should just be expanded to read that it would cover all mediums of data exchange, regardless of format. The movies and musical works should be considered data, as in digital form that is all they really are. The regional encryption of DVDs should be prohibited as it prevents the fair use doctrine to be fairly applied. As we have teachers who have moved here from other states and brought with them the materials that they have used in their classrooms, the DVDs they might bring will not work in the DVD players we have at the school. This would mean either the purchase of another copy of the DVD or the purchase of another player if there are no longer copies available of that DVD. It would also drive up cost for the consumer, not just in having to buy duplicates of everything if you move, but also the inability to purchase the cheapest copy over the internet or from a video club, as opposed to having to buy it locally. This has already hurt sales of DVDs in local stores as many do not want to buy something, even with a better picture, that they may not be able to use in a few years with the purchase of a new DVD player. I have put off purchasing one myself for just that reason.

This is not just conjecture on my part. I have a friend who likes getting the latest 'electronic toy'. He had purchased the DVDs when they first came out. He returned his new DVD player because he was able to view only about a dozen of the over 45 movies he had on his new player. He had moved back to Michigan after being in Arizona for two years, during which time he had purchased most of the DVDs. It was only those he had purchased here that he was able to view on the new player. I can very easily see some child on Christmas morn, getting a new DVD from their Grandmother and Grandfather, putting it in the player, and not being able to see the movie because it was purchased and mailed from across the US. It is more frustrating when the people at the video store tell me that they are being told that many of the new movies are going to be only coming out in DVD. Whether this is truth or just what is filtered down to the employees, it still makes those of us who are aware of the MPAA and their tactics to achieve more revenue from us under the guise of copyright protection, angry.

In the event that their are hearings on these issues, I would be willing to participate if so called.

Thank you for your time in reading my comments.

Respectfully submitted by,

Mark Meyer

(address)