What about My Copy Rights? Towards a declaration of digital independence.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people that pay for digital content are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable Copy Rights, that among these are the right to play licensed content on any device, to backup said content as the licensee sees fit, and the pursuit of digital happiness. That to secure these rights, social contracts are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of those that pay. That whenever any Form of content protection becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new protections, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Digital Freedom and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Fair Use, long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Digital Rights Management, a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Digital Restrictions, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

That sounds something like the DMCA, which underpins tieing arrangements by copyright and technology holders, doesn’t it? DMCA enlarges the boundaries of copyright protection far beyond their original intentions.

If anyone out there likes the idea of a call for Copy Rights, then let me know or blog about it or whatever. If the snowball rolls downhill then we can perhaps formalise a declaration of some kind, rather than the (slightly humourous) placeholder above.