Version Zero Zero (dot) Org

Who knew that the world would enter into a police state through our movies and music. Germany took that step today with a law that will be enacted in 2008. The upper house of parliament approved a new copyright law that makes it illegal for copy music and videos even for individuals. Under the new law storing these backups without prior permission is illegal. Furthermore, making digital copies of IPTV and TV broadcasts are also illegal. I'm not sure how this would work with iPods filled with non-iTunes purchased music. God forbid you should copy your music, then backup your backup onto a firewire!

Some consumer groups and the German Green Party have fought against these new measures to no avail. German federal justice minister Brigitte Zypries stated that the newly passed legislation brought German law in line with European Union codes.

That all makes sense as it is the EU who is demanding over half a billion dollars from Microsoft because they've gotten rich off of capitalism. You don't want Windows Media Player? Don't buy Windows...did you ever notice that it IS called WINDOWS Media Player? I'm having a very difficult time grasping where they're coming from on all of this. For starters anyone who's ever installed REAL Player or any of the other after-market products knows that they instantly take control of all media formats. I'm not saying Microsoft is a saint, all I'm saying is the EU isn't.