The Cult of the Cool Mac: Made with 100% USDA real meat!

Every three years, the Librarian of Congress is pemitted to add some narrow exceptions to the enforcement of the DMCA anti-circumvention provisions. For the 2003 update, the public was allowed to make comments and suggestions per a Notice of Inquiry on the Copyright Office web site.

In case you have been living under a rock for the last 4 years, the controversial DMCA provisions at section 1201 of the Copyright Act make it illegal to circumvent technological controls that effectively limit your ability to access copyrighted materials. Some people suggest that the threat of DMCA action has become a bludgeon in the hands of big business to quell criticism and competition and to coerce the public into buying copies of the same CD/DVD/Software multiple times, effectively creating a pay-per-use society.

Others say that it is an essential tool to prevent piracy.

I'm not going to turn this into a rant. I'm just going to point out that the Copyright Office has posted some of the responses to their request for comments on the next update to their list of exceptions. It's good reading. Go there now.