If copyright is unfair then we need to get that word to our elected representatives and tell them to fix it. If they do not listen, do not vote for them and vote for someone who will. When was the last time you sent a letter to your representative about an issue that concerned you? I probably do once or twice a year and I pay attention to what they do or how they vote.
This is the same group of iggets that passed the DCL (Digital Copyright Law) stating you can not make backup copies of movies you own! Whereas recording a VHS or a cassette is fine for some reason because it's analog and some vague language about quality. I asked my Representative why can't a make a back up copy of a movie my kids will use, because crazy me doesn't want to go out and drop another $20.00 on a copy they scratched on a sandstone coaster? (Actually they take very good care of them, but you get the point.) He spoke for about 20 minutes regarding this question and never answered the question, which I pointed out to him. So finally I said "Well, I guess if the voters your represent had lobbyist we wouldn't have all this special interest laws. It's a damn shame you can't screw the illegals the way you do the tax payer."
As for me I have copying software that pre-dates the law, therefore I'm not technically in violation based on the fact my software was legally registered prior to the DCL passage. However, I can't legally re-install it if I should have HDD failure or SW corruption.
Now heres what's odd, DVD's have put CSS coding in place to prevent copying unless you have a decoder, but most music CD's the very industry that started all this whining about illegal copies does not, go figure. I can do a VHS to VHS dub, CD to CD dub, Cassette to Cassette dub and it's all legal but if I want to do a DVD to DVD dub all the sudden I'm an outlaw.
Facts are 95% +/- (Some cNet study years ago I saw) of the people that obtain and illegal copy of a song, movie etc for free, are not going to go out and pay for it if it wasn't available for free. So what have they lost? I've downloaded songs for free back in the day of Napster and Kazaa and found an artist I'd never hear of otherwise and bought one of there CD's just because I heard a song of theirs I got off the internet, now that Napster and Kazaa are no longer free, I don't use them and I don't discover new artist as I have no new music radio around here and I don't have the stomach for MTV anymore. So I'm not buying new music blindly, I'll stick with what I have.
Representatives are not going to change copyright laws not matter what the consumer and voter says, there is to much special interest money at stake. Just like they won't close the boarder in spite of the fact that over 80% (according to some polls I've seen) of the voters want it done. There is to much political heat and lobbyist money there to keep it from getting done on both sides of the aisle.
Can you say Term Limits? Remember your representative doesn't represent you, they represent the biggest check. How deep is your pocket?