[Ubuntu-SG] Should we "Say No to Piracy"?

[suhaw koh]

Hi Chew,
Many thanks for your input:  They are most instructive in this discussion.

Yes, I fully agree that there are many ambiguities in the law: Being very
broadly worded, they may (or may not) cover many aspects.  And the truth is
that nobody (even lawyers) can say for certain whether any specific thing is
or is not covered until they are actually tested in the courts, ie somebody
bring about a legal suit.

So, the only reliable guide we have as to what the law covers is based on
the cases that have been decided in the courts.  Thus far, the courts have
been quite reasonable.  For example, a strict reading of the law would
define the buffer and RAM memory in computers as making illegal copies
whenever a program is run, no court would every take such a nonsensical
interpretation.

My point is simply that I propose we work on the assumption that the law is
reasonable and where there are undesireable features of laws, we should work
to helping the legislators/government iron out the kinks.

If we were to get bogged down by may/may-not questions, we will never get
anything done.

And now for a little trivia regarding your point about "Perfectly legal
things that TUSG do could be promoting Ubuntu, having release parties, open
source education, etc." Check this out:
http://www.elections.gov.sg/agc/presidentialSubLeg10.htm

:-)

Cheers.


suhaw



2009/6/22 chewearn <chew4097 at gmail.com>

>
>
> 2009/6/22 suhaw koh <kohsuhaw at gmail.com>
>
>> Hi Chew,
>>
>> 2009/6/22 chewearn <chew4097 at gmail.com>
>>
>>> 2009/6/22 suhaw koh <kohsuhaw at gmail.com>
>>>
>>>> <edit>
>>>> As for the more recent Nov 2008 DL article about Sim Lim raids that Chew
>>>> quoted, they are specifically about modifying devices to circumvent access
>>>> control measures, ie modifying the Wii machines to play pirated software.
>>>>
>>>
>>>> <edit>
>>>>
>>>
>>> My point is that the Law could be broadly worded, such that the "device"
>>> could reasonably be applied to a Personal Computer.
>>>
>>
>> Most laws are broadly worded as they cannot be expected to deal with every
>> minute detail.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> In other word, the decss package *could* be considered illegal in
>>> Singapore (just like in US), because it's enable circumvention of the DVD
>>> access control.
>>
>>
>> While circumvention of DVD access control may be illegal, we also know
>> that there is also an express provision in Section 261C(10) allowing for
>> import or sale of devices whose sole purpose is to control market
>> segmentation for access to films e.g. multi-coded DVD player.
>>
>
>
> Sorry, I used the wrong words previously.
>
> What I meant by "access control" was of being able to read/play but not
> copy a DVD; something which the CSS encryption (together with the copy bits
> and DVD consortium licensing agreement) is meant to do.
>
> I did not mean "access control" with respect to the DVD region code.  I
> agree that the Law has a specific exception to invalidate DVD region coding.
>
>
>
>>
>>
>>
>>> My personal opinion: in practice, Singapore is a very pro-business
>>> country.  It is very likely that anything we do *in this matter* that
>>> would be detrimental to "business" would get us into trouble.
>>
>>
>> In that case, the very existence of TUSG would get us into trouble:
>> Anything we may want to do can be considered as being detrimental to
>> business.
>>
>>
> Let's not "over-extrapolate".  I am referring to specific potentially
> illegal circumvention packages, such as decss, win32codecs, etc. (note: I
> emphasis the words "in this matter" to my previous reply above).
>
>
> Perfectly legal things that TUSG do could be promoting Ubuntu, having
> release parties, open source education, etc.
>
>
> Btw, it seems we are going a bit off track from your initial post.  I don't
> mean to say I am against joining HIP (at the moment, I am undecided).
>
> I replied to this thread because I have previously worked for a MNC
> designing DVD devices, so I thought I could add my 2 cents knowledge in this
> area.
>
>
> Regards
> Chew
>



-- 
________________________
Koh Su Haw  许树浩
http://suhaw.teresaville.org/
Tel : +65 6236 8194
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