Part of the goal of the campaign is to expand what has been traditionally a battle between manufacturers and innovators, and the entertainment industry. As pointed out by Slater, this battle has been going on since the landmark decision in Universal Studios Inc. et al. v. Sony, commonly known as the “Betamax” case. In that case, the movie industry was railing against Sony’s innovative product, which allowed television shows to be recorded and watched later. The Court held that this was acceptable, and the result has been an industry of personal media portability from VCRs through Tivo.
The Digital Freedom Campaign hopes to expand this battle to include three types of individuals: innovators, creators, and consumers. All three of these groups are negatively affected by the current copyright climate, which restricts every aspect of media and seeks to prevent devices that allow for open use of media from even being made.
Essentially, the Campaign makes clear that what is needed is a new vision for copyright, where content no longer belongs just to large companies, or even to small filmmakers, but to everyone. As was pointed out, we live in a nation where the penalty for downloading a song in your home is greater than for stealing the entire CD at retail. Something has to change - let’s hope that this new initiative adds the muscle to make it happen. For more information, check out the newly launched website.
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