RE: A thought about H.R. 2281 - Anti circumvention

[Rick Anderson <rick_anderson@uncg.edu>]

> Why should it be illegal for us to knock down those barriers as long as we
> are only exercising the legal rights granted to us?  As soon as we step
> over the allowable limits, we can and should be prosecuted, but while we
> stay within the boundaries of the law, we should be allowed free access. 

Joanne, I think the distinction you draw between breaking-and-entering and
right-of-way is an elegant one.  But I think that if I were the owner of a
commercial online site I would argue that the analogy breaks down where
the natures of physical and virtual property diverge.  If you own a piece
of land with a public waterway running through it, it is indeed possible
for someone to stay on the river and out of your property.  But if you own
a website which contains both proprietary and public information, it
probably isn't possible for someone to hack into the site to get at the
public information without also gaining access to the proprietary
information.  Again, I think that in this case the breaking-and-entering
analogy fits better: someone may be breaking into your house with the
express purpose of photocopying part of your phonebook, which is legal,
but that intention probably can't justify the breaking and entering. 

On the other hand, if your site were set up in such a way that it *were*
possible to hack into the public info without at the same time gaining
illegal access to the proprietary info, then the right-of-way analogy you
propose would apply perfectly, I think. 

----------------------
Rick Anderson
Head Acquisitions Librarian
Jackson Library
UNC Greensboro
1000 Spring Garden St.
Greensboro, NC 27402-6175
PH (336) 334-5281
FX (336) 334-5399
rick_anderson@uncg.edu
http://www.uncg.edu/~r_anders

"I'm a bigot, I know.  But for the left, fortunately."
                 --  Woody Allen