[game_preservation] One last bit on DMCA

[Henry Lowood]

Again to all (both groups):

The videogame exemption was brought by J. Alex Halderman at the 
University of Michigan. He is in CS/EE there and specializes in software 
security, it seems: http://www.cse.umich.edu/~jhalderm/

Here is what he submitted:
http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2008/comments/halderman-reid.pdf
It is not specific to videogames in its origins (sound recordings, more 
like). However, it is pretty narrowly focused on security vulnerabilities.
E.g., from the text submitted by Halderman, "A flaw uncovered last year in
Macrovision’s SafeDisc software17, one of the most widely used 
copy‐protection systems for
PC‐accessible video games18, exposed PCs to attacks similar to but even 
more dangerous
than those enabled by the Sony rootkit.19 Because SafeDisc shipped 
preinstalled on nearly
every copy of the Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2003 operating 
systems, the
vulnerability affected nearly one billion PCs, two thousand times more 
than the rootkit."

And, quite interesting ...

"Serving as another prominent example of this kind of TPM is Sony’s SecuROM
software, utilized by dozens of high‐profile video game publishers 
including Atari,
Bethesda Softworks, Capcom, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Konami, LucasArts, 
Microsoft, Sega,
and Ubisoft.21 PC‐accessible video games utilizing SecuROM automatically 
install copyprotection
software, often without the consumer’s knowledge. Independent security
experts have not yet rigorously studied SecuROM; in the absence of a 
definitive analysis,
anecdotal contentions of harm, speculation about causes, and 
contradictory assessments of
risk have run wild on the Internet. While Sony maintains that the TPM is 
safe22, some users
report that it disables critical system security functionality including 
firewalls and antivirus
software, opening their PCs to a variety of viruses, spyware, and other 
malware.23 Three
class action lawsuits have been filed against Electronic Arts on behalf 
of those allegedly
negatively affected by the inclusion of SecuROM in the popular video 
games Mass Effect24,
Spore25, and Spore Creature Creator

Whether or not SecuROM causes actual security vulnerabilities, the 
uncertainty
about its risks has created an environment of suspicion where consumers 
fear the worst.27
Given the immense stakes that users hold in the security of their PCs – 
private
communications, valuable data, and even financial assets vulnerable to 
theft and fraud –
the presumption that SecuROM is insecure may be a rational decision to 
err on the side of
caution. Yet, consumers who bought SecuROM‐encumbered games unaware of the
potential risks are now placed between a rock and a hard place, forced 
to choose between
accepting the indeterminate risks posed by SecuROM and abandoning access 
to their
lawfully obtained video games. This is an unacceptable proposition for 
consumers.
Furthermore, the SafeDisc and SecuROM fiascos showcase the very real 
chilling
effect of the DMCA anti‐circumvention measures on security research 
related to these
TPMs. Even though SafeDisc exposed hundreds of millions of PCs to a 
serious security
vulnerability, over six years passed after the release of the TPM until 
anyone but attackers
knew about the vulnerability..."

Anyway, I recommend taking a look at the text and thinking about the 
applications of the exemption.

Henry



-- 
Henry Lowood
Curator for History of Science&  Technology Collections;
   Film&  Media Collections
HRG, Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall
Stanford University Libraries, Stanford CA 94305-6004
650-723-4602; lowood at stanford.edu; http://www.stanford.edu/~lowood