RIAA, DMCA, EFF, And So Forth 175
twrayinma writes: "According to this article in Salon, Prof. Felten may have been smarter than we thought yesterday when he "allowed himself to be bullied" by the DMCA wielding RIAA. 2600 and the EFF could use this incident as an example of a big company using DMCA to quash legitimate research, as their court case alleges. Looks like Prof. Felten's fight may not be over yet..." Carl Kaplan's Cyber Law column in the NY Times also discusses the case.
While I'm at it, I should mention that the appeal hearing in the 2600 case will be this Tuesday in New York City. I do not know if a "protest" of any sort is planned; judges aren't supposed to decide cases based on protests anyway. But the case may be of interest to many NY-area readers:
Tuesday May 1 2001
Second Circuit Courthouse
10:00 AM
Courtroom 506
40 Centre St., at Foley Square, Manhattan
Thanks to LXNY for the information.
Re:Felten's at Princeton though, they can afford (Score:2)
Re:Just another way to lose. (Score:2)
Re:Just another way to lose. (Score:2)
Re:Gandhi (Score:2)
"RIAA crushes scientific research in Ivy League academia"
The best part is, the USA _does_ have a sort of class system- ask any preppie, ask Dubya's dad. You don't mess with the Ivy League colleges that have produced a disproportionate number of Washington bigshots. You'd have to mess with USC to make deadlier, more-organised enemies- and frankly, the Ivy League plays better in Peoria. Say the names 'Princeton-Harvard-Yale-etc' and an awful lot of people will just kowtow automatically- and say 'RIAA is doing damage to Princeton's academic freedom!' and the same people will bristle, even if they don't fully understand the details.
And the RIAA _did_ try to damage Princeton's academic freedom. They can't weasel out of this, courts don't put much stock in 'we didn't really mean it, honest'. The RIAA _did_ treat Princeton academia as a target to beat into submission. It's on record and public knowledge- and they succeeded, so it's easy for them to say they didn't mean it, now that they got what they wanted.
If you want to use this situation to best advantage, lean on the class angle- that it wasn't some punk in a dingy room surviving on Jolt, but an Ivy League College that was _successfully_ beaten into submission. People would like to think the poshest colleges of the USA are still ivory towers, and threatening and dominating these institutions is REALLY bad PR.
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:2)
The companies didn't buy the WIPO treaty. They bought the Green and White paper on the NII.
Buy Jessica Litman's "Digital Copyright" for the whole story.
European? Join Eurorights.org [eurorights.org] to fight the EU copyright directive.
Re:I Got a letter saying I violated the DMCA today (Score:2)
Felten's at Princeton though, they can afford (Score:2)
Seriously, if an Ivy League school with a billion dollar endowment and thousands of crackshot lawyer alumni won't stand up to the RIAA, what chance does EFF have?
Or maybe Princeton has too many alumni making big bucks from the RIAA?
Re:Felten's at Princeton though, they can afford (Score:2)
"David and Goliath: A tale of the DMCA"
or
"How I rode the RIAA like a bad boy to tenure at Princeton"
Re:Court date (Score:2)
An online reference can be found near the bottom of page 53 of the document : http://www.nku.edu/~phi/v15.pdf
Re:This may be a dumb quesiton, but... (Score:2)
This same reasoning would not apply to a case where you did not have a prior contract. The logic that renders click through licencing agreements meaningless in a case of already purchased software may not be applicable to a case where where you are clicking through agreements on a web site as part fo the process of establishing a contract.
Does anyone out there have the expertese to settle this question?
Adrian
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:2)
The Constitution does give the United States the power to enter into treaties, and when the US does so, it is not a matter of the treaty powers negating the Tenth Amendment. The Tenth Amendment is no obstacle to powers that are, in fact, delegated to the US.
Nothing about this suggests that the treaty powers of the US are a threat, in any way, to the First Amendment.
Adrian
Re:That guy is so smart (Score:2)
And now, the chipping-away can begin.
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This may be a dumb quesiton, but... (Score:2)
Is New Jersey a UCITA state? If it isn't, then is SDMI's click through licence worth even the electrons that displayed it? I thought click-throughs weren't enforceable (except under UCITA)?
Re:what the heck is up with moderation? (Score:2)
________________________
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:2)
However, a FindLaw article [findlaw.com] (read "Constitutional Limitations on the Treaty Power") suggests that in international issues, such as migratory birds, the treaty power might be strong enough to overwhelm the Tenth Amendment. And language used by Holmes in one ruling suggested a controversy over exact interpretation...
If the Government chooses to argue a compelling interest in international cooperation over computer crime or even easily-duplicated IP, the same logic may perhaps suffice.
To my knowledge, no President or Congressman has been raked over the legal coals solely for breaking his oath, although many have pushed blatantly unconstitutional acts (provisions of the Communications Decency Act, provisions of the Violence against Women act, calling for banning flags via law (rather than amendment)...). Not yet, anyway.
Martyr for the cause: (Score:2)
Re:a bit on clueless corporate types (Score:2)
Re:Don't just sit there reading Slashdot! (Score:2)
protests (Score:2)
Indeed, sign-weilding protestors rarely evoke change. In another thread, Ghandi's name was dropped. What Ghandi did to effect change in India was to highlight the British abuses and "goad" them into committing even worse atrocities. Of course, since we're all just pussies here, we'll whine on Slashdot, but I doubt if we'll see anyone risking their life standing in front of a gun or going on a hunger strike.
Re:what the heck is up with moderation? (Score:2)
Weird.
It appears that mod privileges... (Score:2)
Junger and Bernstein crypto cases (Score:2)
Re:Dubious tactic (Score:2)
However, in this case, the RIAA sent him a letter strongly suggesting that they'd take legal action if he continued, whatever they're now trying to say. As far as I can see, that's like someone being pushed.
Re:That's it! I'm fed up! (Score:3)
If you're really fed up, do something about it.
Write your Congressmen.
For all of the highly-moderated comments here, your Congressional representatives do not read Slashdot. They do read your letters. (But not necessarily your email [zdnet.com].)
Look up your House Representative at www.house.gov/writerep/ [house.gov] and your Senators at www.senate.gov [senate.gov]. Write a letter, and address a copy to each of representatives.
Be clear, concise, and non-technical. Explain how the DMCA affects average citizens and consumers. Use examples from mainstream news sources to back up your argument. Keep it down to a page.
The ACLU has more tips [aclu.org] for writing effective letters to your Congressmen.
Unless you write your representatives, you are one of the ones who stood by and did nothing.
Statement by Oppenheim (Score:3)
Re:RIAA should push their legitimate case instead. (Score:3)
Infringement != Theft
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:3)
But, this whole "Constitution vs. treaties" issue is one that seems to pop up with some regularity, whenever constitutional issues are discussed on
So, with that in mind, here is Mr. Justice Black, writing for the Court, from the Reid case mentioned before (footnotes removed):
FWIW, Missouri v. Holland is the migratory birds case mentioned in another post...
Re:Gandhi (Score:3)
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Trolls must unperson umodded (Score:3)
The cryptography was broken without any initial monetary input, nor was it broken with internal documentation.
It is quite easy to design a protection system that fully documented is unbreakable. The fact is the techniques described in the paper were developed 50 years ago. Most likely the RIAA got ripped off by their own staff.
All the RIAA has is an implementation not even an invention. The problem at hand is the invention in itself practically.
On another note, why aren't we using puzzle based schemes like Ralph Merkle's instead of this ages old pissing contest of big numbers and weird theories?
You should know by now... (Score:3)
Nothing a corporation says or does really exists. If a RIAA lackey shot Professor Felton in the head, a spokesperson would have no qualms about standing up the next day and saying;
Had you read the previous article (Score:3)
Re:The danger of laws that are too broad/vague (Score:3)
Therefore, any disclosure of information that would allow the defeat of those technologies would violate both the spirit and the terms of the Click-Through Agreement (the "Agreement"). In addition, any disclosure of information gained from participating in the Public Challenge would be outside the scope of activities permitted by the Agreement and could subject you and your research team to actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DCMA").
The initial claim is violation of the "click-thru" license. These guys may be able to back-track by claiming that that was the main point of the letter. The DMCA second claim may stand based on the phrase "good faith:" if you violate the click-thru to get the datasets, you can't be acting in good faith.
Sad, but I think the RIAA will be able to weasel their way out of this one.
it's a 5! (Score:3)
hi Ole, I was going to mod you up to 5 but the /. mod sys is busted.
So here's your final point, verbal style..
sparky
politics vs. philosophy (Score:3)
Yes, that's a valid point to raise. But now you're talking about practical politics, rather than philosophy. My post was an attempt to frame the question philosophically. That's important, but frankly relatively easy to do. Bringing the reality of the situation into line with the theory is a much harder problem, and I don't have any answers for you. Sorry. :(
come on, our democracy pretty much works and it works historically better than any other system ever created...
This is pretty much true. Historical perspective is a great treatment for despair over the state of the world. However, I feel (as I believe you do) that better still isn't good enough. As I see it, we (humans) are doing better than we ever have before in history. However, we also have vastly more power now than we ever did before, which equates to an ability to screw things up on a grander scale than ever before (or, possibly, to achieve a near-Eden, if we do it right). I think human civilization is balanced on a razor's edge: if we fall off one side, we will be destroyed by war and/or ecological collapse; fall off the other side, and we descend into tyranny (with the same ultimate consequence; for all that our environmental record in this country is bad, the record of totalitarian states is much, much worse). If we walk the edge successfully, we may achieve a new, healthier and (hopefully) more stable state as a species.
Good luck to us.
Re:Court date (Score:3)
The Civil Rights Act had less to do with activists protesting (activists are generally looked upon as a fringe element), and more to do with innocent non-activists being killed, maimed, raped, or exploded because of the color of their skin. It's hard to argue that there is no problem when little girls are killed in church basements because a group of racists decided to blow up the building.
Re:Potential RIAA counter-argument (Score:3)
There are many forms of research that are unpublishable. But generally, you have to agree to those restrictions in contract ahead of time. If you don't agree, you don't get the money to do the research. There are exceptions to this rule, wherein you can be kept from publishing scientific research without prior agreement, but I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know enough about what they are to comment. But most of these types of research are only done under high security at government installations by government employees who have agreed in their employment contracts to not discuss the work and have been given security clearances that carry severe criminal penalties for violation.
If it came to a court battle over this, the contract angle would likely be the point the SDMI folks push: that the research group agreed to the "click through" contract. If anyone of the group agreed to it, they are probably all bound by it, because the agreer would have an obligation to his collaborators to reveal his contractual bonds. And the argument that "they didn't accept the money so they aren't bound" may not hold up: you can freely release the other party from any contractual obligation, but that doesn't free you from your obligations. Again, I'm not a lawyer, and I haven't read all of the contract and I don't know how Felten et.al. obtained the files, so I'm just blowing smoke....
My Letter to the RIAA (Score:3)
As an expert in applied cryptography and hardware security systems, I am greatly concerned by the tactics used by the SDMI and the RIAA concerning the Princeton research paper. It is quite clear to me that even if SDMI used conventional cryptographic algorithms, there would still have been an attempt to stifle the academic research, under the pretense of it being a "copyright circumvention device prohibited by the DMCA".
This type of action would certainly cause me to think twice about publishing security issues, even if it was only vaguely related to copy protection schemes. Since I deal with banking level security, these actions may ultimately effect the safety of your personal bank accounts. This is not an exaggeration, as I have already discovered and help correct two severe flaws in smartcard wallet protocols (VisaCash used in the Atlanta Olympics and EMV used by several million users in Europe).
This prior restraint may be (and probably is) exactly what the RIAA, MPAA, and SDMI want; but it is unconstitutional and should be illegal. I will be informing my local congressional representatives and appropriate congressional committee members of the impact toward my profession.
Excellent... (Score:3)
As a historian of modern Russia, Stalinism is one of the first things that comes to my mind when I hear about organizations trying to stifle free speech... *especially* academic free speech. While in no way am I comparing the United States government to that of Stalin, we have to be oh-so-careful... because in the future, such comparisons might not only be appropriate, but they might be outlawed...
Kudos to Prof. Felten, 2600, the EFF, and all others who're fighting this kind of drivel. If you haven't already, write your representative.
Re:Nonesense (Score:3)
Did you actually READ the article? It said:
That's it! I'm fed up! (Score:3)
Also to be billed as the world's first megabit sneakernet.
-S
Re:Had you read the previous article (Score:3)
Which is what he's done... Instead of publishing the paper and then waiting for the RIAA to sue him on in the venue of THEIR choosing (and we know it'd be the so-called "judge" Kaplan or some other judge who was from an AOL Time Warner law firm), he now holds the cards...
The RIAA can't sue him because he complied with their "cease and desist" threat note. But he can sue them for using illegal threats and intimidation to deprive him of his civil rights!
This means that Felten gets to CHOOSE the venue and the structure that the case is argued in. Remember, in the 2600 case, the MPAA steamrolled the whole thing through as quickly as they could so as to deny 2600 and the EFF ANY chance to adequately defend themselves... As if that was possible with so obviously a prejusticed "judge" as Kaplan in charge of what became nothing more than a show trial. Kaplan's court was so unethical that a noose might as well have been hung over the defense bench in preparation for the "hangin" after the trial.
In one of my posts in the previous stories, I mentioned that Felten might be able to pull an "Infineon" on the RIAA, and strike back against them using the RICO statute. Infineon is close to breaking Rambus, because the courts have allowed them to investigate fraud and corrupt practices using the RICO statute.
Given the cartel nature of the RIAA/MPAA structure, it may be possible (IANAL) to do something similar to them over their obvious use of intimidation, threat, and possible extortion. Felten created a "smoking gun" by withdrawing his paper, and thus establishing the fact that he WAS intimidated.
Ah... the media (Score:3)
RIAA should push their legitimate case instead. (Score:3)
On the other end they must recognise that the public and individuals also has rights if they are going to be able to get some sympathy at all. I think they fail to do so over and over again with this kind of clearly misdirected attacks, if you tell people to hack something you can't bitch on them for doing so.
For anyone who might be interested... (Score:3)
Dig in. ;)
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SDMI & RIAA are Backtracking (Score:3)
Statement by Matthew Oppenheim on Professor Felten
The Secure Digital Music Initiative Foundation (SDMI) does not - nor did it ever - intend to bring any legal action against Professor Felten or his co-authors. We sent the letter because we felt an obligation to the watermark licensees who had voluntarily submitted their valuable inventions to SDMI for testing.
For the record, the Recording Industry Association of America, one of the founding members of SDMI, strongly believes in academic freedom and Freedom of Speech. This issue, however, is about the competing interests of scientists - those of the watermark technology companies that have invented new technologies and those of Professor Felton who seeks to describe how to circumvent those technologies. To that end, we have encouraged Professor Felten and the technology companies to resolve this matter. We leave it in their hands to do so.
Further questions should be directed to Verance at 858-677-6522
So let me get this..... (Score:4)
Protests @ Court DO Have Purpose... (Score:4)
But media attention to a case where the law is enforced, even it its morally the wrong thing to do, CAN have an impact on Congress changing the law.
The best example in the last 10 years was the Credit Union law. Credit Unions were expanding beyond their "common ground" in order to survive if their original common group was lost for whatever reason. The banks sued, won the case and all appeals to just shy of the Supreme Court...
...Then congress and Clinton, under major lobbying and petition efforts by the Credit Unions and their members, passed a law that pretty much gave the Credit Unions the right to exist as they have been, ending the case right on the spot.
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You know, you gotta get up real early if you want to get outta bed... (Groucho Marx)
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:4)
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. (emphasis mine)
It seems clear that treaties were intended to supersede STATE laws and constitutions - as they should, otherwise you have 50 separate foreign policies. But they do not supersede, and cannot supersede the Federal Constitution. See Reid v. Covert 354 US 1 (1957), for example...
Nonesense (Score:4)
Thanks to the Felten fiasco, the EFF and 2600 Magazine have a new weapon in their legal arguments against the loathed copyright law: The RIAA has now, in effect, used the DMCA to stifle academic research. As Roger Parloff and Charles Mann pointed out in Inside.com, even the authors of the DMCA didn't intend for this to happen.
The point of the DMCA, in the eyes of those who authored it, is not just to stifle hackers, but also to prevent academic research. Academic research is, after all, absolutely as dangerous to their property as Captain Crunch doing the same work. They aren't going to care one whit whether the research that millions of script kiddies are benefitting from was done at Princeton or the food court at the local mall. The fact is, they are still owned. And by their logic the monetary losses start at that moment.
I'm sure they'll explain that in detail in court.
--
Poliglut [poliglut.com]
Re:Stand up for yourself (Score:4)
I trust that you, like myself, have given money to the EFF [eff.org] and the ACLU [aclu.org] (to name a few worthy organizations). (Note that I find it somewhat ironic that the ACLU once gave Hillary Rosen an award, but I digress...)
If you haven't then everything you say is nothing more than posturing. It it very easy to talk big and to tell these people to stand up for themselves, but not so easy to do so when faced with the RIAA's thundering herd of lawyers.
A legal battle against a major corporation is almost guaranteed to be very costly, and while paying US$50k to a team of lawers may be a pittance to BigCorp (especially when protecting a business interest), most private citizens do not have anywhere near that kind of capital to spend on a lawsuit that they have nothing to gain from (financially).
Groups like the EFF and the ACLU help to level the playing field by leveraging the social goodwill (and their associated dollars) of millions. They help provide for the defense of those who otherwise would have to go without. But there is no guarantee that they can help you (or even that you'll win) and you're still spending time dealing with the case (the lawyers get paid for every hour they're in there but you, as the defendant, probably don't). So even fighting may not get you anywhere...
So give [eff.org] money [client-mail.com]. If you already have, then I applaud you. If not, then perhaps you should think about the practical implementations of your noble goals.
Of course, if you're too young or broke to give, that I understand as well....
Re:Nonesense (Score:4)
Most of us computer geeks (the good ones at least) have maybe a year or two at college before we were snapped up by a ravenous job market. So why live with this absurd notion that a princeton professor is doing research and Alan Cox has a hobby.
Worse yet, the slashdot audience is now saying the man's a genius for caving in to the RIAA, when the article mentions no benefit from the spineless wonder. The only place it's mentioned is in the Slashdot teaser! (And that's good ol' slashdot spin...)
The Princeton researchers are still as spineless today as they were yesterday.
Re:Court date (Score:4)
Protests and marches and songs are all very colorful, but for guaranteed action, all you need to do is see that someone personally humiliates the future President of the United States.
I did not make this up. Put aside the "official" history books and go read the history of Lyndon Johnson.
Radio stations will play National Anthem at 10am (Score:4)
Finally part of the proceeds from the book "DMCA go to the EFF.
The relevant link is here:DMCA by Marcia K Wilbur [barnesandnoble.com]
The book has gone from a 372,000 give or take 100 sales rating to 61,840 since December 2000. No. 2 bestseller right behind Jessica Litman's Digital Copyright.
If you need a discussion about the topic, openlaw.org's dvd-discuss list, slashdot archives in the Your Rights Online topic, and Jessica Litman's book do a pretty good job.
If you want to know how we got here and what's at stake, DMCA includes comments questions and answers as well as a copy of the DMCA, former President Clinton's comments on the DMCA as he signed it, and a history of copyright law.
Dubious tactic (Score:4)
"I have cures for war, plague, pestilence, even psoriasis. Too bad the world will never have them. I must withhold them all because the details of those cures (when XORed with a certain bit string) happen to describe a decryption device which is prohibited by the DMCA."
what the heck is up with moderation? (Score:4)
It seems like /. has given everyone mod privs, or maybe a super-moderator is going around marking the first 20 posts to every thread as a permanent 5.
What gives?
Acedemic Troll (Score:4)
Be on time.. (Score:4)
The 'other side' gets more time because there are two of them - MPAA gets 20 minutes, US government gets 10 minutes.
This info comes from the 2600 radio show Off the Hook [2600.com].
I'd go.. (Score:4)
How 'bout if I just send email? I'd hate to mess up my CRT tan..
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:4)
My apologies for not remembering exact case reference but I believe I came across that info while going through Cornell's most exellent Supreme Court Collection [cornell.edu].
Enjoy. -CZ
Essay on the recording industry (Score:4)
-- CTH
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Gandhi (Score:4)
Think about it. When in human history have the people moved to crush a large corporation or nation? Only when they finally have appalling evidence thrust under their noses of its crimes.
Let's see in what way we can publicize DMCA in a way non slashdot-freedom-advocates can understand. Their multitude of voices can silence this if they look up from their TV's long enough.
-Kasreyn
Re:Court date (Score:4)
Legal Maneuvering at its Finest... (Score:4)
Re:Just another way to lose. (Score:4)
That is actually NOT true! It's NOT legal to threaten legal action for the purposes of intimidating people from doing legal things. And there is over 200 years of case law and precedent supporting the right of Felten to publish his research. But then, there were also specific exemptions within the DMCA itself that would allow DeCSS for it's intended purpose, but that didn't stop the lawless "judge" Kaplan...
Intimidation and threat of the use of of frivilous legal action as a weapon to deprive someone of their civil rights is legally NO DIFFERENT from writing a note that says "publish that and we will have your legs broken"
Remember, the DMCA is an untested STATUTORY law that largely conflicts with CONSTITUTIONAL law. It wasn't tested because Kaplan refused to test it (it wouldn't have been in his former and future? clients best interest). Somewhere down the line it WILL be tested, and at the very least, it will be weakened considerably, if not outright rejected.
The RIAA's threats at Professor Felten (and his backing down) are proof that when they passed the DMCA, Congress ESTABLISHED a law "abridging free speech".
This wasn't more apparent? (Score:4)
Well, the RIAA wanted to be able to control information...let's see how they like what happens when they get what they want
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:4)
Court date (Score:4)
Re:Just another way to lose. (Score:4)
Of course, IANAL and I don't know all of the legal nuances involved, but I do know that running around threatening legal action just to shut people up isn't always a good idea if you do decide to make good on one of your threats.
Hmm, seems like wishful thinking... (Score:4)
More likely than not, the RIAA (if even presented with this at all) will trumpet the unpublished paper as a victory for the DMCA. The DMCA in this case has been used to protect corporate interest/intellectual property. So a professor got bullied, who cares if entertainment is so vital to the economy? Such rhetoric is what really matters in these situations. Money will always win over free speech.
As a disclaimer, I am a musician that gives away all of my merchandise freely. That includings CDs, tapes, clothing, and anything else we do. We record, manage, and distribute our work and performances. Interested? mp3.com/leftunsaid [mp3.com] and freespeech.org/leftunsaid [freespeech.org].
I would like nothing more than the collapse of huge industry trade groups, but we must realize that nothing short of convincing the masses that the system they are used to is wrong will fix things. Etertainment existed centuries before people charged for it, but its strange to think that in this day and age. Thanks.
Just another way to lose. (Score:4)
SDMI and the RIAA were hoping to prevent the professor from publishing legitimate research by invoking the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. At first glance, they succeeded.
The article then goes on to explain how the RIAA, who managed to scare our crypto friends away from publishing their work, is actually its own worst enemy, since its strongarm tactics show how little it cares for anything but its own bottom line. Evidently the hope is that, if the RIAA looks bad enough, the courts and legislatures will realize how lousy they are and how prone the DMCA is to corporate abuse, and take action against them.
Folks, we are not going to win this one simply by hoping the RIAA and DMCA will look so bad to the courts and lawmakers that they'll get thrown out. The RIAA is an association of businesses, and businesses have entire departments devoted to smokescreening tactics like this. The Salon article shows this plainly:
On Thursday, Oppenheim [the RIAA VP of business and legal affairs] released a backpedaling statement: "The Secure Digital Music Initiative Foundation (SDMI) does not -- nor did it ever -- intend to bring any legal action against Professor Felten or his co-authors. We sent the letter because we felt an obligation to the watermark licensees who had voluntarily submitted their valuable inventions to SDMI for testing ... The Recording Industry Association of America, one of the founding members of SDMI, strongly believes in academic freedom and freedom of speech."
See, the RIAA doesn't even have to go to court to be effective. It just has to threaten. And, last I checked, threatening legal action is perfectly legal pretty much everywhere. The RIAA knows that the mere threat of legal action is enough to shut most everyone up. What we need are people that refuse to cave, people that will see the matter through to court or speak before our legislatures.
We need to take away the RIAA's ability to threaten. We can't do this ethically by refusing to give them access to our courts -- everyone should be given the right to sue, even frivolously, since the risk of people being denied access to our justice system is too great otherwise -- but we can do it by taking away their favorite tools (DMCA, dishonest licensing schemes, &c). Folding in the hopes that you can make the bully look bad is a losing strategy.
Re:Just another way to lose. (Score:4)
Oxford.
All of them.
Disclaimer: I went to Cambridge. Dislike for Oxford is a requirement for graduation.
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RIAA/DMCA/Etc. (Score:4)
OOPS sorry that was my foot..."
I was wondering how long it would be before they shot them selves in the foot with it..
Don't just sit there reading Slashdot! (Score:5)
Sometimes the court system works like it's supposed to. Sometimes it doesn't. This Supreme Court has made LOTS of 5-4 decisions, and it's hard to say which way it will go on any given case.
That's why we have to make this a legislative issue RIGHT NOW, before the law gets any older, before people become even more complacent with its effects.
WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMEN!Take an hour or two to draft a one-page letter (not an email [slashdot.org]) to your House Representative and your Senators. Present the fair use and free speech issues clearly and as concisely as you possibly can. Be as non-technical as possible. Use examples from the news where this law has affected real people (other than music pirates). Include copies of relevent articles from mainstream publications like The New York Times. And proofread your letter, then let a friend proofread your letter.
As has been noted on Slashdot before, you can look up contact information for Senators by state at http://www.senate.gov/ [senate.gov] and for House members by state at http://www.house.gov/writerep/ [house.gov].
NPR had a nice bit on this (Score:5)
Potential RIAA counter-argument (Score:5)
Re:Nonesense (Score:5)
It's one thing to push around hackers... the public still has little to no sympathy for the misunderstood minority they represent. But a lot more people can understand it when they're told "hey, the RIAA wants to stop research. What's the deal with that?".
It's all about bringing this out into the open, clarifying what the stakes are, and winning some real "hearts and minds" in this fight. Joe Six-Pack could care less otherwise.
we need more "opressed" (Score:5)
actually, the more I look at it, the RIAA looks more and more like organized crime... you pay to become members, they take your rights, and you have to give them a percentage of your profits for their protection. then if you break ranks they punish you. and in-order to keep everyone in line they bully and make threats, and do assinations (character assinations that is)
and our government supports this......
exactly why am I a law abiding citizen again?
Re:Felten's at Princeton though, they can afford (Score:5)
Jiu Jitsu (Score:5)
I disagree strongly with those who expressed disappointment with Felton's decision. While it is certainly true that Felton's case is awesomely strong if he were sued, both from the heart and on the merits, and that it would be a joy to see a DMCA anti-circumvention case with a highly sympathetic defendant, little would be gained. There are enormous constitutional issues here, and significant Copyright policy questions.
Had Felton continued, he would likely have argued: (1) there is a crypto research savings clause; (2) there are other defective issues with the plaintiff's case; and (3) even if there weren't, the first amendment would preclude the issue. 1 and 2 are close to drop dead wins for Felton in this case, and for that reason, the Courts will never, ever, ever reach the constitutional question. The most likely result is that the defendants would have prevailed, with the useless judicial precedent holding that the crypto research exception is an exception for crypto research.
Felton's case isn't a good test case, precisely because its a really, really good case. But by falling on his sword and LOSING a case he is likely to win, he does two enormously important things:
(1) Earns FOR FREE political capital for the anti-DMCA movement, providing opportunities for the handfull of Congressmen and Senators already leaning that way, and providing extraordinary lobbying fodder;
(2) Earns FOR FREE excellent coverage that Kathleen Sullivan can use to her benefit in the DeCSS hearings.
As a wonderful side benefit, the spin is amazingly beneficial.
No, RIAA, quite like past Republican Congressional majorities, has been its own worst enemy. By not knowing when to stop and regroup, it has set the stage to steal defeat from the jaws of victory. Even people who are rooting for RIAA principles, indeed, even strong IP advocates such as myself, have turned 180 degrees against them. They have taken, taken, taken and gained advantages they didn't deserve. Now, the pigs will pay for their avarice.
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:5)
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land...
One can probably make a very good case that this puts treaties on an equal footing as the Constitution itself -- IOW, if a treaty requires replacing our current system with a hereditary monarchy and the Senate was demented enough to ratify, then that might be perfectly legal.
The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:5)
Re:Felten's at Princeton though, they can afford (Score:5)
Problem with this is, they won't just sue Princeton - they'll sue Felten personally as well as his grad students who worked on it who I'm SURE wouldn't have been able to handle the cost, though the ACLU would most likely have picked them up.
Felten is probably covered personally -- here in Florida, the university will provide legal aid to any professor who's sued as a result of their professional efforts. I dunno about grad students, but I'd be suprised if the university didn't cover 'em, given that they were working on directed research.
--
Not necessarily True (Score:5)
I Got a letter saying I violated the DMCA today.. (Score:5)
Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") prohibits the circumvention of "a technological protection measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title." 17 U.S.C. * 1201(a)(1)(A). As previously noted, Live365.com has designed its web site and related software to ensure that the streaming music it provides on its Internet radio stations complies with the provisions pertaining to the statutory license to publicly perform sound recordings under the Copyright Act. In so doing, Live365.com has taken precautions to preclude users from recording or storing transmissions of its Internet broadcasts. The player software designed to be used with Live365.com does not permit recording and, in fact, is designed to prevent it.
In contravention of this precaution, you have created software which enables users to store these broadcasts. This has circumvented a "technological measure" which "effectively controls access" to copyrighted works. See RealNetworks, Inc. v. Streambox, Inc., No. C99-2070P, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1889, at *18-19 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 18, 2000). Such manipulation of Live365's protective measures constitutes a violation of the provisions of the DMCA.
They also have like 8 other law they say i'm in violation of.. I just mailed the ACLU, maybe I should try the EFF as well? I can't really afford a lawyer...
-Jon
This could work out (Score:5)
The Court has historically gone a long way in this direction where technical information is involved. The Progressive case, regarding disclosure of how H-bombs work, was decided in favor of free speech, despite heavy objections by the U.S. Government that publishing the trick that makes H-bombs work was dangerous. And this was despite "born secret" legislation regarding non-government discovery of nuclear secrets.
This could lead to some very interesting litigation. It might even lead to many of the provisions of the DMCA being declared unconstitutional.
Re:Court date (Score:5)
Don't organize a protest, it will just make you look like wackoes infuriated because your channels for stealing music are being restricted. Protests did not work in the 60's and they won't now.
I have to completely disagree with you here, civil disobiedance is an American tradition, starting with the Boston Tea Party. I beleive the protests of the 60's were very effective, do you really beleive Nixon would have pulled out of Vietnam had there not been rioting in the streets ? and Kent State was in vain ? or Martin Luthor King accomplished nothing ?.
In recent times protests have not been effective, because the government has gotten better at dealing with them. They learned from the invasion of Grenada and later Panama that to control the flow of information to the media is a very effective way to control public opinion. We saw a glimer of how effective this can be during the WTO protests in Seattle, the news media was completely oblivious to the fact that the police were using rubber bullets and tear gas on protestors until it was reported through alternative means, such as the Internet.
As a side note, I think it is ineresting that protests against the status quo, such as the ones in Seattle, are meant with brutle force, while those supporting the status quo, ie both the supporters of Bush and Gore (yes, they both represent the status quo) in Florida during our month long Presidential election are pretty much left alone.
Jesus died for sombodies sins, but not mine.
Re:Speaking as a lawyer (Score:5)
I won't argue for a moment that most of the usage on Napster was legal under current laws. However, the real issue regarding copyright and IP is larger than "what is the law now?". The proper question is "what should the law be?". When circumstances change such that the cost of enforcing a particular law (whatever its merits under previous circumstances) includes the destruction of fair use rights, freedom from unlawful search and seizure, and freedom of speech, is the old law still good law?
If it becomes necessary to create a police state in order to enforce a particular law effectively, then there is a problem with that law.
This line of logic also applies to the issues of internet censorship and the drug war.
a bit on clueless corporate types (Score:5)
Why is it that corporate types are not clued into the following facts:
a) Geeks, given an opportunity such as this, are generally not inclined to obey instructions to "Do our dirty work and then fall in line, you subversive m0?#3rp#uK3r$", and in fact are just as likely to take you up on your challenge without telling you, and
b) academic stuff really tends to be better done in the open (a blind spot shared with many, many government types over the millennia).
I guess it's a bit naive of me to wonder about this, but it really hurts to get myself into a frame of mind so blinded that I can't see the logic in cutting off other's access to maintain an edge. (After all, I would think the dubious success of Mutually Assured Destruction would be enough to convince even the most hawkishly secretive politician that secrets are more trouble than they're worth, but this is a terribly weird and tasteless example...)
And I do sometimes wonder whether it ever occurs to the entertainment-industry types that you can hit a point of diminishing returns when it comes to money vs. control. But they obviously haven't learned the Divx lesson, have they?
/Brian
The danger of laws that are too broad/vague (Score:5)
This is another example of how laws that are too broad/vague have an annoying side effect of suppressing innovation (to coin a M$ buzzword). You'll see in this section of DMCA [cornell.edu] that if things went to court the researchers could probably provail without even invoking the constitutionality of DMCA:
In this case, there is a clause buried deep in the law that seems to allow the researchers to publish, but because the initial sections of the law are so broad it's easy to start an expensive lawsuit even if the company might loose in the long run. Also in this case, the phrase "Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(2)" in 1201(g)(4) above is open to interpretation, and it is in section (a)(2) at the beginning of the law that is very broad.
Re:Just another way to lose. (Score:5)
The RIAA knows that the mere threat of legal action is enough to shut most everyone up.
Here's where things get complex. The DMCA's creepiest element (IMHO) is that it turns copyright violations into criminal violations as well as civil. Herein lies way to salvation. If the RIAA can threaten Professor Felton with civil liability, one can argue the DOJ could threaten him with criminal liability. Since the government is coercing him into silence with threats (as opposed to actions), the DMCA creates a prior restraint on free speech, which is unconstitutional.
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:5)
If the DMCA were to be ruled unconstitutional by the Court, congress would be under treaty obligation to draft another piece of legislation doing exactly the same thing.
I'm afraid this is wrong on two counts.
Did not intend to bring legal action? (Score:5)
The what the heck is this...? The letter sent to Professor Felten (mirrored on http://cryptome.org/sdmi-attack.htm [cryptome.org]) states:
and...
and...
RIAA, did you say that you did not intend to bring legal action? Oh, this was just an intimidation letter? I see.
-S
Re:Academy must be silenced (Score:5)
OK, I'll bite. I won't dispute your point that there are legitimate conflicts -- if there were only one reasonable side to the argument, the discussion wouldn't have continued this long.
But I must be sceptical about the idea of protecting public and private data via a war-on-crypto, analogous to our wildly successful war-on-drugs. Bad boys will continue to hack through every new security system, and keeping all this work underground prevents the rest of the world from a) knowing how many security holes exist, b) knowing how we might protect ourselves, and c)advancing the state of the art. A set of feel-good rules like our airline security system, inconvenient to everyone EXCEPT the pro bad guys who can work around them, doesn't help.
It is science, after all. Laws to restrict scientific enquiry don't have a good track record, on either ethical or practical grounds.
I will acknowledge that copyright protection issues are just one aspect of general hackery, but crypto is crypto and lessons in one area apply elsewhere.
The bottom line for me is pretty simple: I have no confidence in developing legal remedies as bandaids for technical and social problems. This is like saying "If you get wronged, seek restitution in court." Litigation and criminalization are hardly ever great choices and never happy ones. This is a case in point. We need to think more deeply about how the rights of authors and other content creators can be protected without implementing laws that shackle legitimate scientists or creating another set of Prohibition laws that don't make sense to the average consumer.
JMHO -- Trevor
Re:Felten's at Princeton though, they can afford (Score:5)
Problem with this is, they won't just sue Princeton - they'll sue Felten personally as well as his grad students who worked on it who I'm SURE wouldn't have been able to handle the cost, though the ACLU would most likely have picked them up.
Problem is, though, that RIAA went to mess with a pretty smart guy. As the Salon article says, he knows his article and the info on how to remove the watermarks is going to get disseminated even if he doesn't present it outright or publish it in a major journal. Looking at the situation, he knew the strongest position for the sake of fighting the DMCA would be to allow yourself to be knuckled under by RIAA's hardball tactics.
Now, every case being brought by RIAA/MPAA/etc based on the DMCA will have the defense pointing to this and saying:
"Look. Here's this law that the record/movie/software industry got congress to pass, saying they needed it to maintain the integrity of their product. But what are they actually using it for? As a method to stifle free expression. Here you have an academic, a man interested only in pursuing the Hack SDMI challenge from an intellectual standpoint, and RIAA is placing its hand over his mouth. This law is a violation not only of the basic tenets of copyright itself but of the Constitution because it's blocking free speech about publicly available materials, blocking education, and preventing the brightest minds in our country from disseminating knowledge. If this is what the court feels congress intended by this law then our client's guilty. If otherwise, the DMCA is simply a bad law that turns media producing corporations into media controlling corporations."
And that, Friends, is a powerful argument.
Re:Dubious tactic (Score:5)
The RIAA did try a foul. The fact that it afterwards claimed not to have is simply lies on top of lies.
First Ammendment infringements are subject to a very strict standard of review since the courts recognize that the threat of frivolous lawsuits is an effective means of censorship
Re:The problem with overturning the DMCA (Score:5)
Actually, RIAA is wrong about Napster.. (Score:5)
The fact that music has now and always will be obtained without compensating the artist is nothing new to music. The simple fact that the RIAA has never attempted to forclose the companies which manufacutre blank casettes or dual casette tape players should be evidience enough that the real issue with the RIAA isn't the fact the artists aren't being compensated as they would like you to believe. The true heart of the issue is the fact that they are threatened by the availabilty of the Medium
The RIAA has ALWAYS screwed it's artists over. They don't care about the artists, and I pity the morons like Ulrich in Metallica who think the RIAA is trying to protect them by closing Napster: THEY DO NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOU!
The fact there will always be a medium to copy music illegaly is something that can not be avoided. The fact that the RIAA isn't getting a cut of the profit for itself from Napster is the real point. Let me brighten the extremely dim bulb of any musical artist who reads this:
If the RIAA could make a profit off of Napster, the would keep every penny for the record companies and not pay you, the artist, a cent more.
I applaud the professor in this instance because he's proving that the DMCA is in actuality inhibiting free speech because it puts power to control digital medium strickly in the hands of corporations when the medium should be free to all.
Re:Just another way to lose. (Score:5)
You're right in that the RIAA doesn't have to go to court to threaten, but that's because they have the money to outlast a professor at Princeton. By caving in to the legal threats, he's demonstrated that threats of legal action under the DMCA damage free speech.
Rather than potentially go to court an lose a clstly battle for which the RIAA is already prepared, possibly setting a precedent in the process, the professor felt it was better to fall on his sword, to become a DMCA martyr the 2600 lawyers can hold up in court as an example that we're already on the slippery slope they warned of in the trial. Also, since his position is untested in court, anti-DMCA forces can safely use his example without having a bad decision hanging over their heads.
Re:Court date (Score:5)
Ever heard of the civil rights movement? Yeah, that thing.
What you should do is find some independent musicians (not signed with any RIAA member) and get them to go down there and demand to be heard
A plethora of independent musicians already oppose the RIAA and the major labels. The (quite ironically) popular punk subculture and all its bands have been speaking out against it for years. Unfortunately, they just aren't listened to. The only bands who will be heard on these issues are bands that are already signed with major labels, and they are already impotent. Remember Offspring's attempt to release an album for free download over the web? Their label vetoed the idea [go.com]. Sorry to sound like a cynic, but it seems only these popular bands can make and impact and it is they who are not allowed to.
Why the hell can't reporters see the bait&switch? (Score:5)
This has really started to piss me off. In the NYTimes Cyberlaw article, Kaplan (no relation, I assume) mostly does a decent job of covering the basic facts and issues, and is surprisingly evenhanded in most respects, eschewing the blatant MPAA/RIAA toadying we've seen in other mainstream coverage of this case. (As a defense witness [2600.com], I was one of the bit-part players in the original trial; I testified [eff.org] in front of Kaplan regarding networking technology to refute some of Shameless^WShamos [eff.org]'s bullshit. The coverage at the time almost uniformly painted the defense as Evil HaXor D00dz; it was really exasperating trying to explain to my family why I was helping them.)
The NYtimes article, quoting some pozzer of a professor at U. of Richmond, says in part:
"You don't have a fair use right to view an HBO televised fight and make a copy of it[...]Similarly, a movie theater can restrict access by charging admission -- even charging a movie critic"
This is such an obvious bait-and-switch it makes my stomach churn that the reporter didn't call him on it! A movie showing in a theater is not "published". You haven't bought a copy of it, you've bought a ticket to go and see it. Copyright law doesn't apply! An HBO televised fight is technically the same thing -- you're paying HBO "admission" to see it, although in this case it's a little murky because they are transmitting a copy to your TV. But neither of these are analogous to something like a DVD, where you've purchased a copy of the work fixed in a tangible medium!
Grrr...