Re: [Cdn-DMCA] DVD cartel examples sought

From: "Tom A. Trottier" <Tom _-at-_ Abacurial.com>
To: <canada-dmca-opponents (at) flora.org>
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 13:22:10 -0400
References: <3BB450DA.9308.26D6162@localhost>

On Friday, September 28, 2001 at 12:35, Russell McOrmond <canada-dmca-opponents@flora.org>
wrote on "Re: [Cdn-DMCA] DVD cartel examples sought," saying..

> 
>   I am sending a copy of this letter directly to
> Compbureau@ic.gc.ca to hopefully speed up this investigation. 
> 
>   I also sent in a complaint (Dated Aug 10 with text posted at
> http://www.flora.org/dmca/forum/42 ) which includes my full
> contact information (Also available at http://www.flora.ca/ ). 
> 
>   I would like to be advised if a sufficient number of complaints
> has been sent in to start the investigation.  I have contemplated
> setting up an online petition to collect large numbers of Canadian
> consumer signatures to a complaint as part of a (just being
> created) "Canada high-tech Competition" site
> <http://www.flora.org/competition/> , but would delay this if the
> Competition Bureau is already investigating this problem. 
> 
> On Fri, 28 Sep 2001, Tom A. Trottier wrote:
> 
> > Hi all,
> > 
> > A fellow at the Competition bureau phoned me back asking for
> > specific examples where the DVD cartel is restricting competition.
> > 
> > I imagine it impedes businesses from importing DVDs from other
> > countries and selling or playing them in Canada.
> > 
> > Does anyone have some specific instances?
> 
>   While the regional encoding is itself a restriction worthy of
> investigation and prosecution, the most critical problem in my mind is
> the 'tied selling' aspect which is part of section 77 of the
> competition act.
> 
>    "(a) any practice whereby a supplier of a product, as a condition
>    of supplying the product (the "tying" product) to a customer,
>    requires that customer to
> 
>    (i) acquire any other product from the supplier or the supplier's
>    nominee, or "
> 
> 
>   In this case, viewing the content of an already-purchased CSS
> encoded DVD is tied to the purchase (directly or indirectly) of a
> license to the CSS system.  Consumers should be able to purchase a
> DVD video without needing to purchase a CSS license, and this is
> what is being disallowed by the DVD-CCA cartel. 
> 
>   The requirement for a CSS license, and the claim the software to
> implement the license needs to be kept secret
> <http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/>, effectively creates
> an insurmountable barrier to entry into the DVD-player market any
> purely Open Source or Free-software based player.  This licence
> requirement would also remove from entry into the market any
> "format conversion" devices (DVD-CSS to NTSC-tape, DVD-CSS to
> DVD-unscrambled, DVD to MPEG for home-viewing, etc) or any other
> technologies that would protect consumer "fair dealings" rights as
> they relate to any copyright content encoded in the CSS format.
> There may also be other restrictions the cartel could place on the
> purchase of a DVD-CSS license, and any of those restrictions will
> restrict entry to the player market. 
> 
> 
>   With the vast majority of CD's being encoded in the DVD-CSS
> system, and with this insurmountable barrier to entry into the DVD
> player market by any DVD-player not licensed by the DVD-CCA, you
> can not see any 'examples' given that an alternative DVD player
> market simply cannot exist. 

We need examples of what's wrong, not what should be. I guess you're 
saying most DVDs and players are examples of what's wrong. 

Perhaps we need a person, an individual, who is personally affected, 
perhaps because she bought a DVD made in England that won't play on 
her player.

Or a video store which can't get particular DVDs that will play here.

In other words, a practical complainant rather than a theoretical 
one.

Tom
--------- Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Tom A. Trottier,    ICQ:57647974  Tom@Abacurial.com
		415-400 Slater St. Ottawa ON Canada K1R 7S7 
		+1 613 291-1168 fax:594-5412  N45.417 W75.705
(after 2001 Oct 20) 758 Albert St, Ottawa ON Canada K1R 7V8 
		+1 613 860-6633 fax:231-6115  N45.412 W75.714
   ,__@ 	Laws are the spider's webs which, if anything small falls into 
 _-\_<, 	them they ensnare it, but large things break through and escape.
(*)/'(*)		--Solon, statesman (c. 638-c558 BCE)
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin
------------------------------------------
--
For (un)subscription information, posting guidelines and
links to other related sites please see http://www.flora.org/dmca/