Hollywood Cartel's Copyright Control Loosening

from the looking-up? dept

Dan Gillmor has been one of the more outspoken critics of Hollywood's attempts to control all content everywhere all the time. So, it's almost surprising to see him even slightly optimistic that things aren't all going Hollywood's way. There are new technologies that are made with consumers (and not Hollywood) in mind, DVD-Jon got off the hook, and Rick Boucher re-introduced his legislation to change the DMCA. These are all good signs. However, I'm not quite so optimistic. There's still no evidence that Hollywood has any idea how idiotic they're being, and how they're shooting themselves in the foot with each move - working against what the market is telling them. I would be much more optimistic if there were at least some evidence that someone in Hollywood realized they've been making a huge mistake in going against consumer wishes the past few years. I am, however, optimistic that (in the end) it won't matter. Consumers will win out, at the expense of the old Hollywood infrastructure. The real question is whether or not the old Hollywood thinkers will embrace the new technology (and profit greatly from it), or if they'll have to be shoved aside, kicking and screaming, while newer, smarter upstarts take their place.