FW: Digital Consumer.org

["Hamaker, Chuck" <cahamake@email.uncc.edu>]

from http://www.digitalconsumer.org/index.html

Digital Consumer.org
Bill of Rights
<http://www.digitalconsumer.org/bill.html>

1. Users have the right to "time-shift" content that they have legally
acquired.  This gives you the right to record video or audio for later
viewing or listening. For example, you can use a VCR to record a TV show
and play it back later.

2. Users have the right to "space-shift" content that they have legally
acquired.  This gives you the right to use your content in different
places (as long as each use is personal and non-commercial). For example,
you can copy a CD to a portable music player so that you can listen to the
songs while you're jogging.

3. Users have the right to make backup copies of their content.  This
gives you the right to make archival copies to be used in the event that
your original copies are destroyed.

4. Users have the right to use legally acquired content on the platform of
their choice.  This gives you the right to listen to music on your Rio, to
watch TV on your iMac, and to view DVDs on your Linux computer.

5. Users have the right to translate legally acquired content into
comparable formats.  This gives you the right to modify content in order
to make it more usable. For example, a blind person can modify an
electronic book so that the content can be read out loud.

6. Users have the right to use technology in order to achieve the rights
previously mentioned.  This last right guarantees your ability to exercise
your other rights. Certain recent copyright laws have paradoxical
loopholes that claim to grant certain rights but then criminalize all
technologies that could allow you to exercise those rights. In contrast,
this Bill of Rights states that no technological barriers can deprive you
of your other fair use rights.

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