Comment Number 539814-00015

Comment Number:	539814-00015
Received:	1/6/2009 10:25:14 PM
Organization:	Hermes Cap LLC
Commenter:	Eric Baker
State:	UT
Agency:	Federal Trade Commission
Rule:	FTC Town Hall to Address Digital Rights Management Technologies - Event Takes Place Wednesday, March 25, 2009, in Seattle
Attachments:

Comments:

I cannot express my disapproval of DRM in any form more strongly. Every version that has been force upon us causes damage to law abiding citizens computers, and - since it's so easily broken - causes absolutely no damage to pirates computers. We are being taught by that action that it is better to pirate media protected by DRM if we want to avoid damage to our equipment. Also - as several failed music stores have shown - if you buy DRM encumbered media from a company and they go out of business, or more likely, if they get bored of running the DRM servers, we lose the ability to appreciate the media that we have purchased and legally own. The music industry response to their failed business model has been to go to congress to try to force legislation down our throat that gives them unconstitutional powers. I'm so sorry to break this to them, but just because they produce something, we are not obligated to purchase it. I believe that we still live in America. It is staggering to me that Sony and other companies have implemented as part of their DRM systems rootkits and other damaging trojan horses that are explicitly listed as illegal in the anti-spam, anti-virus legislation that has been passed. Why have they not been thrown in jail, and prosecuted as crooks? They are breaking the law! Instead, we are forced to defend our distaste for their blatant disregard of the law, and their obvious distaste for us the consumer. In a normal free market economy, when a business demonstrates absolute hatred for their customer as these companies have repeatedly done, we are free to take our business elswhere, and they are free to fail. Please do not reward their abominable behavior with more illegal and unconstitutional legislation.