Most of the presidential candidates have taken a middle-of-the-road stance about DRM, which leaves me with little confidence that digital rights management issues will be on anyone's platform. The only candidate that stood out with any marked pro-consumer leanings was Edwards, who specifically stated a preference for full disclosure of DRM terms for customers. Clinton expressed support for reviewing the DMCA, but without a distinction for which way she leaned.
In interviews with computer and technology weblog CNet, candidates were asked about digital rights management (DRM), technology-based solutions for preventing copyright infringement of digital content. Democrats largely took the stance that a balance must be struck between protecting the copyright of content owners and protecting the fair use rights of consumers.
Clinton stated that she would support a “review of a range of issues related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act insofar as it did not concern degrading copyright protections or encourage copyright infringements.”
Edwards said that “intellectual property laws and regulations should better balance the industry’s legitimate concerns over piracy with common-sense consumer freedoms,” and called for government to encourage full disclosure of freedoms and restrictions on digital content, so that consumers might be better informed before making a purchase.
My thanks to Intellectual Property Watch for the summary.
Link.
