Good (Score 1)

Surely the whole point of arguments about intellectual property and electronic freedom is not that intellectual property shouldn't exist and that everyone has a right to rip off artist's work, but that technical systems which attempt to 'enforce' the laws hinder legitimate use of technology and make life worse for everyone (except the suits with their fingers in the pie). Thus efforts like SDMI, shutting down Napster and restricting the user's ability to access and use the data they have in their possession in any way they see fit within the spirit of copyright law are a Bad Thing. Charging extra for SCMS audio CDs is a Bad Thing - I personally don't like the fact that if I buy a CD to do live recordings onto a budget CD recorder then I have to pay extra for the medium because it is assumed that I will put it to criminal use. These 'solutions' do nothing to solve the problem whilst creating complexity and hindering legitimate use. But if you want any records or music or studios at all, somebody has to pay for it - copyright law itself is not a Bad Thing, and as such, I am personally in favour of zero-tolerance legislation to permit the enforcement of copyright law. I am led to wonder why record companies don't seem to be pressing this line particularly hard. I suspect the massive profits to be made from copyright 'protection' systems have something to do with it.