Hey, Disney: Keep your hands off our hardware!

Hey, Disney: Keep your hands off our hardware!
David Coursey,
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Thursday, March 14, 2002

If Eisner and his "big media" buddies, like News Corp. President Peter Chernin, have their way, your current PC might be the last one you buy. And if that happens--and spills over into consumer electronics as it easily might--the current bad market could soon be remembered as the good ol' days.

LAST MONTH, Eisner, Chernin, and other representatives of the entertainment and media establishment were in Washington, complaining to Congress that their customers were ripping off their copyrighted content. Part of their proposed solution? Require the PC and consumer-electronics industries to build next-generation products that would prevent even casual copying.

Specifically, what Eisner wants is for next-generation PCs and other devices to have built-in features that prevent the unauthorized viewing, listening, or copying of copyrighted material.

If the hardware companies go along willingly--or Congress forces them to do so, which is what Eisner wants if the OEMs don't volunteer--your next-gen PCs and toys will actually do less than the ones you already own.

WELL, LET'S SEE. PC manufacturers could tout their "downward migration path" to the user-friendly hardware of the past. That old PC in your garage could be worth real money. Being older would--for the first time in PC history--actually be better.

And, perhaps more directly, what does this mean to you? First off, we'd all think twice or three times before investing in a new computer or, well, just about anything that's been touched by Eisner and friends. Oh, and what's more: no more ripping music. No more MP3 players. No more compilation CDs.

Between this suggested action and what the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) wants to do with copy-protected CDs, a lot of the stuff we take for granted today would go away.

Speaking out against Eisner's proposal were our heroes from Intel, which has a big stake in keeping people buying computers on at least a semi-regular basis. If people stopped buying PCs because of the built-in rights management restrictions sought by Eisner, the biggest loser would be the PC business.

But the effects would also be felt by software publishers, Web sites, and anyone else who is counting on technology upgrades to make their new products attractive.

INTEL SAYS the marketplace--not Congress, and certainly not Disney--should decide which technologies consumers use. You may remember this is not the first time hardware companies have fought with content companies, as the recording industry's battles over things like home cassette recording and CD burning attest.

Generally, the entertainment industry calls this a life-or-death issue (as it did during the recent Grammy awards). But regardless of whether it gets what it wants, it still grows. Eisner is just the most recent in a string of greedy entertainment execs crying wolf.

Jonathan Zittrain, an assistant law professor at Harvard, pointed out in a recent New York Times editorial that what Eisner's really saying is that the most dangerous threat to his industry is the American consumer. If that's really the case, what Eisner needs to do is rethink his business model rather than look for a way to outsmart his customers.

WHILE STEALING CONTENT is just that--stealing--and you shouldn't do it, there is a big difference between someone copying music to a personal MP3 player or burning a compilation CD and offering the same content for mass copying or sale. Until the entertainment industry accepts this fact--and offers some real compromises--it will be awfully hard to respect even their legitimate concerns.

While I consider downloading music from a file-swapping service to be stealing, what I do with the CDs I've purchased for my personal use isn't Michael Eisner's business. Intel and the rest of the PC, Internet, and consumer electronics industries--along with customers like you and me--need to send a clear message to Mr. Eisner: Keep your hands off our hardware.

Let's make sure Eisner--and Congress--realize that any plan to make hardware companies responsible for solving Disney's business problems is--I know you see this coming--totally Mickey Mouse.

This may sound, at first, like a monor argument. But the DMCA and the even more heinous SSSCA are a dagger aimed at the heart of our freedom to communicate. They mandate spyware inside every computing device. This is very very evil mojo. Remember, Jack Valente was consigliore to JBL. There is no bottom to the well of evil in this stuff.

I don't think they'll get too far with this. Many congressmen are computer literate, and the congressional staffers live and die by e-mail. They have an interest in keeping computers out of the regulator's hands.

What I would like to see is this story being made public beyond the bounds of ZDNet. People should know what The Mouse is up to.

What I would like to see is this story being made public beyond the bounds of ZDNet. People should know what The Mouse is up to.

I read on Slashdot one interesting suggestion. The law is designed to protect "copyright holders". Pornographic movies are "copyrighted", the copyright holders being the makers of the pornographic movies.

If we can get the word out that Fritz Hollings is supporting a bill that will benefit the porn industry, that might help quite a bit.

I like the way you think.

Much as I'd like to claim credit, it wasn't my idea originally. I did have an idea that I wanted to express, but I've since forgotten it. Once it comes back to me I'll let it be known.

Jack Valente was consigliore to JBL

Uhhh, I meant LBJ - Lyndon Baines Johnson, one of the most vile men ever to walk the Earth. JBL (James B. Lansing) makes very fine loudspeakers.

Article I, section 8: "Congress shall have the power...To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;..."

Is Michael Eisner an Author? an Inventor?

Is 1923-2075 a limited time?

The laws extending the copyright on Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh beyond 1975 are unconstitutional. Disney is making a big mistake here, vastly overplaying their hand-and I hope the courts put their business to death.

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