Comments on: RealNetworks slams Apple

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Mon, 02 Aug 2004 17:16:00 +0000

“The DMCA comes into play when actions are taken to circumvent a measure that prevents access to copyright material. The Lexmark (International Inc.) cartridge case might be relevant here though, because in that case, reverse engineering for purposes of compatibility was found to be OK.”

In a case involving printer maker Lexmark and Static Control Components, the U.S. Copyright Office last year ruled that the DMCA does not prohibit reverse engineering if the intent is to make the duplicated product work with a separate computer program.
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So, for the purposes of compatibility it seems OK to reverse engineer. Apple should have kept its mouth shut until doing some research…again statements like theirs will only help to defang the DMCA, thankfully.

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sat, 31 Jul 2004 01:34:58 +0000

Let us not forget that apple started out in the forefront of the personal computer battle. It’s foolish licensing decisions that limit the options available to there own customer that have insured the steady decline of their market share.

Apple now has a chance to kick start their ailing company and what do they do? Make the exact same mistakes they made during the personal computer wars. They’ve made their software and hardware inaccessible to other companies. These tactics failed in the personal computer wars and will force apple to loose its market share in the digital music market.

Guess they just can’t learn from their own mistakes

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sat, 31 Jul 2004 00:28:03 +0000

Yep. A truly interesting turn of events that’ll have lots of ramifications down the road, whichever way it goes.

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sat, 31 Jul 2004 00:12:28 +0000

i also usually hate everything that real does, but this is kinda neat. even though i’d not likely buy songs from real OR apple. cds just work better for me.

but: isnt the creation of harmony for a platform that is reastricted a process of hacking? i dont think it has a lot to to with the songs copy protection – i think apple is going to argue along the hacking line. and software IS copyright protected. reverse engineering would likely violate this copyright.

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Fri, 30 Jul 2004 23:29:53 +0000

Real Networks, but on this one I am totally behind them, lets just see how far they can push this to support ‘fair use’ even if it is in the best interest of their own bottom line.

..and Apple was foolish to mention the DMCA so prematurely, in fact, statements like that will only help contribute to the fight to defang the DMCA, which of course isn’t in Apples/RIAAs favour.