[wellylug] Mini-ITX Motherboard

jumbophut jumbophut at gmail.com
Mon Mar 14 09:52:17 NZDT 2005


On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 09:05:12 +1300 (NZDT), Jamie Dobbs wrote:

> No, NZ laws do NOT allow for, or have, a "fair use" clause, which is why
> (in theory and by legal definition at least) making your own MP3s even
> from CDs you won is actually illegal in NZ but the law tends to turn a
> blind eye to it.
> 
> (at least this was the case 12 months ago when I looked into it)
> 

On the contrary, there are fair use clauses.  

However, you are right that they do not generally permit
format-shifting of audio or video.  You can time-shift (e.g. taping a
TV programme for later viewing) and make copies of at least printed
material as long as it is for personal use and you cannot otherwise
obtain the material in a reasonable time.

NZ has a proposal to allow limited format-shifting for audio, which
the record industry is strongly resisting.  There is no proposal to
allow format-shifting for video.

In the US, fair use incorporates format-shifting.

DVD is another issue entirely.  The latest I have seen from an NZ
publication suggests that it would probably not be illegal to use
DeCSS here but it probably would be illegal to distribute it.

That publication (Copyright and Fair Use in the Digital Age, Louise
Longdin, Uni of Auckland Business Review Vol 6 No 1 2004) is a good
read, although it highlights the uncertainty of the law in this area,
particularly in NZ courts.

You can avoid all these problems by buying from artists who license
under the Creative Commons, or by buying only unencrypted DVDs.  Try
magnatune.com for CC-licensed music, some of which I've enjoyed
listening to.  I have heard that unencrypted DVDs do exist, but that
they are pretty rare.

Alternatively, you can continue to buy artists published by the major
record labels and movies released by the major producers, and put up
with their terms.

-- 
Tony (echo 'spend!,pocket awide' | sed 'y/acdeikospntw!, /l at omcgtjuba.phi/')




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