Foo Camp 2004: Wendy Selzer on threatened technology

I just wandered into this session after catching a few words. One of the interesting things discussed so far relates very much to the Grokster case (http://www.google.com/search?q=grokster+decision)

A key part of the court decision is:

The introduction of new technology is always disruptive to old markets, and particularly to those copyright owners whose works are sold through well established distribution mechanisms. Yet, history has shown that time and market forces often provide equilibrium in balancing interests, whether the new technology be a player piano, a copier, a tape recorder, a video recorder, a personal computer, a karaoke machine, or an MP3 player.Thus, it is prudent for courts to exercise caution before restructuring liability theories for the purpose of addressing specific market abuses, despite their apparent present magnitude.

The discussion then wanders and people start to conflate the issues of the rights of copyright holders and content producers with the issue of legislation-driven control of technology to allow communication.

Governmental grant of monopoly - regardless of media - must be limited and reasonable. Freedom of the press is freedom of human expression.