New RIAA/MPAA "Customary Historic Use" Plan

Random_Transit writes "Ars Technica is reporting that the EFF has dug up plans by the RIAA/MPAA to stifle the consumer electronics market by replacing it's "fair use" policy with something called "Customary Historic Use". This new policy would effectively keep anyone from inventing any new type of media device without the RIAA/MPAA's say-so."

In other news...

[Anonymous Coward]

Automobile banned for violating historic customary use laws for the wheel.

Will this eliminate Software Patents?

[ArsenneLupin]

Indeed, by definition, a patent describes something "new" (at least, in theory, it should...).

If it's "new", it cannot be "customary historic". Thus, at least in the area of multimedia, this law will mean that from now on, no algorithms may be patented.

Either they have to admit that their algorithms are not "new", and they should not be patentable. Or they must admit that they are "new", and thus cannot be "customary historic". Now settle that among you, RIAA and patent sharks!

Re:Thought Police are patrolling the 'hood

[TheSalzar]

We should have a boston cd party

Nerd Employment Preservation Act of 2006

[MillionthMonkey]

I'd like a law like this too. If technology ever makes my job obsolete, I plan to stay at home watching TV and receiving payments from my current employer, as mandated by a proposed law intended to preserve the status quo I enjoy today: the "Nerd Employment Preservation Act of 2006".

If we scrape together some money we can easily have this done. Republican Senator Gordon Smith, for example, the genius behind this fair use bill, can be bought for pretty cheap: [wweek.com]

Between May 2001 and May 2002, Abramoff wrote three $1,000 checks to Smith, followed by a $2,000 check in June 2002 from one of his main clients, the Mississippi Band of Choctaws. In late October 2002, right before Smith's reelection, while he enjoyed a large lead in the polls over Democrat Bill Bradbury, the senator accepted three more checks totaling $4,000, two from the Mississippi tribe and one from another Abramoff client, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in California. Since the election, Smith has received two additional checks from Abramoff's Indian clients, totaling $6,000.

Why should record companies get all the status quo preserving laws? If everyone in this thread were to donate $10 to a special PAC, we could probably get the "Nerd Employment Preservation Act of 2006" passed easily. And we could make extra money by taking short positions on the stocks of all our employers before Wall Street finds out about our new law.

Re: Bucket.

[Black Parrot]

> Maybe it's time for **AA to kick the bucket...

Sorry, but that's not a Customary Historic Use of buckets.

OK by me!

[paiute]

I still have all my old wax cylinders. That damn punk Rudy Vallee - I showed him at last.

Re:RIAA

[d4nowar]

Yeah... it also lets you build houses/hotels on your property.

Record companies banned

[Anonymous Coward]

Record companies banned for violating historic use law of piano rolls.

My Customary Historic Use

[mcubed]

For more than a year in the historical period of 1999-2001, I customarily used the original implementation of Napster to download and share audio files. Therefore, Napster or any service that models itself along those lines is a customary historic use.

I'm fine with this. You go, Senator Smith!

Michael

Re:20 years or bust

[Anonymous Coward]

Screw you, limey. We're the US - we tell you what your history is!

Re:RIAA

[acariquara]

Humor police

You have made a bad pun. Go straight to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.

Re:Thought Police are patrolling the 'hood

[Luigi30]

I don't think Tom Scholz would be very happy.

license, registration, and buggy whip

[scotty1024]

Just imagine if the buggy whip people had been this greedy, we'd either still be using horses to get around or we'd have the police checking to make sure we have license, registration, and buggy whip.

In related news ...

[Anonymous Coward]

The cat's out of the bag, the worms are out of the can.

Also:

• Elvis has left the building.
• They are attempting to close the barn door after the horse has escaped.
• Clinton is out of Monica.
• The Dodgers are out of Brooklyn.
• Bush is out of his mind.
• At sixteen, Bart is out of the house.
• We're out of options.
• The store's out of X-boxes.
• You should get out more.

No, it's not very funny.
In fact, it's pretty stupid, but I'm posting it anyway.

And our forefathers'

[Anonymous Coward]

Indeed. My grandfather set up 8MM video equipment to film Toscanini on TV, and shared it with all of his friends. My dad did the same thing to film the Beatles when they were on the Ed Sullivan show, and shared his copies freely. I myself have been copying and sharing content my whole life, from 8 Tracks through LPs and cassette tapes to videocassette tapes and then on to DVDs and CDs.

It seems like copying and sharing content IS ITSELF a "customary historic use." Heck, copying forms part of content - there really is no distinction at all between the two terms ("copying" versus "content"), for most of us. Only for the RIAA/MPAA and their paid for puppets.