EFFector Vol. 14, No. 21 Aug 24, 2001 editors@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
EFFector Vol. 14, No. 21 Aug 24, 2001 editors@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
For more information on EFF activities & alerts: http://www.eff.org/
To join EFF or make an additional donation: http://www.eff.org/support/
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Robin Gross, EFF Intellectual Property Attorney,
robin@eff.org
+1 415 436-9333 x112 (office),
+1 415-637-5310 (cell)
Cindy Cohn, EFF Legal Director
cindy@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x108 (office),
+1 415-823-2148 (cell)
San Jose, California - Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov will appear in a California federal court this Thursday, August 30, for an arraignment on charges of trafficking in a copyright circumvention device. For programming a software application that appears to be legal in Moscow where he wrote it, Sklyarov -- who is out of custody on $50,000 bail -- faces a potential prison term of five years and a $500,000 fine.
The arraignment is scheduled for 9:30 AM Pacific time with US Magistrate Judge Richard Seeborg presiding, in courtroom 4, 5th floor of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Branch, 280 South 1st Street, in San Jose, California.
Well-dressed observers plan to attend the arraignment and nonviolent protests are scheduled in Moscow (Russia), London (England), Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Black Rock City, Nevada. The San Francisco protest will likely be well-attended since it will start during the Linux World conference in front of the Moscone Center at 11:30 AM on August 30.
Dmitry Skylarov issued the following statement thanking the activists who have taken up his cause:
To everyone who spent their time helping me:
During the three weeks I spent in jail I learned that many people were protesting against my arrest. I also learned that Adobe withdrew its support of my arrest after meeting with EFF. But I was not able to see that or to read letters and articles about my case.
After being released from jail on August 6, I was really surprised and impressed by the scale of the action and the number of people involved in the protests. I'm not an IT superman. I'm just a programmer, like many others. It was unexpected by me that so many people would support a guy from another country that nobody heard about before.
Your support means a lot to me and my family and makes a difference for all.
This experience is going to change me in a profound way that I cannot even appreciate fully as yet. Thank you very much.
-- Dmitry Sklyarov
Directions and map to San Jose Federal Building:
Background on the Sklyarov case:
Calendar of protests related to the Sklyarov case:
David Greene, FAP Executive Director / Staff Counsel
fap@thefirstamendment.org
+1 510-208-7744
Robin Gross, EFF Intellectual Property Attorney
robin@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x112
+1 415-637-5310 (cell)
San Jose, California - A California appeals court today heard a debate over whether a lower court should have ordered dozens of Internet publishers to "stop the presses" pending the outcome of a California trade secrets trial.
In January 2000, as part of a trade secrets case brought by the motion picture industry, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge William Elfving ordered Andrew Bunner and numerous other defendants to halt Internet publication of DeCSS pending the outcome of the trial. DeCSS is free software that allows people to play DVDs without technological restrictions, such as platform limitations and region codes, that are imposed by movie studios.
Today Bunner, represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the First Amendment Project (FAP), argued on appeal that this injunction violates his free speech rights under the First Amendment and the California Constitution. The argument took place in San Jose before three judges of the Sixth District California Court of Appeals.
"It is well established that publishers of computer code are protected by the First Amendment. In granting the injunction against Mr. Bunner, the Superior Court failed to adequately consider Bunner's First Amendment rights," said David Greene, Executive Director and staff counsel to the First Amendment Project, who argued the appeal on behalf of Mr. Bunner. "The mere invocation of 'trade secrets' does not trump a publisher's First Amendment rights."
During today's oral arguments, the judges clearly appreciated the important First Amendment issues raised and asked probing questions of both sides. Upon completion of the oral arguments, the court took the matter under submission. A decision is expected in approximately 4-8 weeks.
Background on the DVD Copy Control Assoc., Inc. v.
Bunner case:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in
1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to
support free expression, privacy, and openness in the information
society. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the
most linked-to Web sites in the world:
http://www.eff.org/
The First Amendment Project is a nonprofit, public interest
law firm and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting
and promoting freedom of information, expression, and
petition. FAP provides advice, educational materials, and
legal representation to its core constituency of activists,
journalists, and artists in service of these fundamental
liberties and has a website at:
http://thefirstamendment.org/
- end -
Katina Bishop, EFF Offline Activist / Education Dir.
katina@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x101
Robin Gross, Intellectual Property Attorney
robin@eff.org
+1 415-863-5459
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and ten Bay Area bands invite you to an open air concert for everyone who loves music from to 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, September 8, 2001. EFF's "Share In" will feature musicians performing in Golden Gate Park near the intersection of Haight and Stanyan streets. Artists participating in this event will permit recording of their performances by those in attendance in support of EFF's Open Audio License (OAL).
Ten bands will play in two stage areas in the meadow. Hosting the main stage are Wavy Gravy and EFF co-founder John Perry Barlow. Musicians performing at the event include singer/songwriter Adrian West, the jazzy Alex Buccat Quartet featuring Sanaz, folk/pop band Atticus Scout, high-altitude bluegrass string band Hot Buttered Rum, soulful solo performer Michael Musika, the political satirists of The Planning Commission, Berkeley-based party band Shady Lady, classical Indian instrumentalists Srini and Raja, acoustic rock performer Vanessa Lowe, and singer/songwriter Wendy Haynes.
EFF developed the Open Audio License to help artists share their work with others without giving up the recognition they deserve for creating the art. Based on the open source and free software initiatives for software development, the OAL encourages artists to share with one another and their fans.
Adoption of the OAL does not mean that an artist goes unrewarded for his or her work. On the contrary, the OAL permits artists to share single tracks or performances and gain widespread recognition for their work without relying on intermediaries. EFF encourages new models of music distribution in the digital world that benefit the artists themselves. One of the great qualities of the Internet is that the overhead for packaging and distributing music, which is where most of the money is currently spent by record companies, is drastically reduced. EFF is committed to developing tools that empower artists to take control over their own art and to be compensated appropriately for their works.
EFF believes that many of the laws and technologies being developed today to protect intellectual property actually harm the public's First Amendment and fair use rights and make criminals of people doing perfectly legitimate things. We are striving to help artists realize the full potential of the Internet for reaching their fans by challenging restrictive laws in courtrooms and through fun public education events, like this one.
In addition to the music, the Share In will showcase booths with the performing artists' music and tie-dye Share In T-shirts. There will also be booths hosted by EFF and outside sponsors, including artists' rights organizations and independent labels. Ben and Jerry's will donate a portion of the event's ice cream sales to EFF.
This is an event for all ages. Bring your family and friends, kids welcome. Hear great music, enjoy Ben and Jerry's ice cream, and support a great cause.
Event sponsors include: Guitar Center, Berkman Center for Law and Technology, Future of Music Coalition, and the SF Bay Guardian.
Information on EFF's Campaign for Audiovisual Free
Expression and the Open Audio License is available at:
http://www.eff.org/cafe
- end -
The 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), a financial services "overhaul" law, included certain privacy provisions regulating financial services institutions and credit bureaus. The statute, unfortunately, did nothing to prevent consumer credit reporting companies -- such as Experian, Trans Union, Equifax/TRW, and Novus -- from providing your credit and contact information to credit card companies for marketing purposes.
The GLBA did provide the right to "opt out" of this consumer credit reporting information disclosure with a simple, free, phone call.
The credit bureaus have not widely advertised their Automated Opt-Out System, already in operation for several years. This system exists only for opting out of lists of names that have been "screened" to receive "pre-approved" credit card offers.
NOTE: This credit bureau opt-out capability has nothing to do with the July 1 GLBA provisions, which are related to the privacy notices you have received from your bank(s). Please read and act on those bank notices, too, as they contain additional disclosure opt-out mechanisms that apply to financial services.
A recent anonymous "alert" about the GLBA has circulated widely on the Internet, claiming that on July 1, 2001, provisions of the GLBA went into effect that would allow credit reporting companies to provide detailed credit history about any American to "anyone who requests it", but that consumers can opt out of this disclosure. In truth, credit agencies are subject to a number restrictions in this area, as are banks and other financial institutions, the actual targets of the July 1 legal restrictions.
This alert about the little-known credit spam opt-out system is part of a larger EFF campaign to highlight how extensively companies and governmental agencies share and use your personal information online and offline, and what you can do about it.
Check the EFF Privacy Now! Campaign website regularly for additional
alerts and news:
For more information about the GLBA, see:
EFF Topics - Privacy:
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/
Privacy Rights NOW campaign to petition FTC to improve
financial & credit privacy regs:
http://www.privacyrightsnow.org/
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse:
http://www.privacyrights.org/
Electronic Privacy Information Center:
http://www.epic.org/
Lauren Gelman, EFF Public Policy Director
gelman@eff.org
+1 415 436 9333 x106
- end -
Shari Steele, EFF Executive Director
ssteele@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x103
John Place, EFF Board Member
jp_eff@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333
Fred von Lohmann, EFF Senior Intellectual Property Attorney
fred@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x123
Seth Schoen, EFF Staff Technologist
seth@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x107
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) welcomes John Place onto its Board of Directors, as well as new staff members Fred von Lohmann as Senior Intellectual Property Attorney, and Seth Schoen as Staff Technologist. These additions reinforce EFF's standing as the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world.
"I am so proud to see the organization bringing in such amazing talent," said EFF Executive Director Shari Steele. "These three people have lots of wisdom and a strong commitment to civil liberties. I'm really looking forward to working with all of them."
EFF Board Member John Place served as Yahoo! Inc.'s General Counsel between 1997 and 2001 and was the first in-house attorney hired by the Internet company. There he managed a department that eventually grew to over 55 attorneys worldwide and was responsible for the company's legal affairs as well as its domestic and international public policy and government relations efforts. Place, who lives in the Silicon Valley with his wife and two children, also worked as Senior Corporate Counsel at Adobe Systems Incorporated. He holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.S. in Economics from San Jose State University. The Los Angeles Daily Journal named Place as one of the 100 most influential attorneys in California in both 1999 and 2000.
"Our nation was founded on liberty," commented Place. "I am proud to join EFF in its pioneering work to ensure that our historic freedoms continue to thrive in the digital age."
Before hiring on as EFF's Senior Intellectual Property Attorney, Fred von Lohmann researched the implications of peer-to-peer technologies on the future of copyright law, serving as a Visiting Researcher with the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, a research center associated with the Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley. Prior to Boalt, Mr. von Lohmann practiced law with Morrison & Foerster, a large international law firm based in San Francisco. He earned his J.D. degree from Stanford Law School, where he helped organize Stanford's first-ever course on legal issues in cyberspace. As a law clerk to Judge Betty B. Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, he assisted the judge with Bernstein v. Department of State, the EFF's ground-breaking case relating to encryption and free expression.
Mr. von Lohmann will drive EFF's effort to legitimize reverse engineering efforts by software programmers. He will also focus on issues arising from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and emerging peer-to-peer technologies. He joins EFF staff attorney Robin Gross and EFF board members Larry Lessig and Pamela Samuelson, rounding out the EFF intellectual property team.
"As Dmitry Sklyarov's prosecution illustrates, intellectual property laws have become dangerously unbalanced, threatening both free expression and innovation," said von Lohmann. "EFF saw this before most, and I'm proud to be a part of its efforts to restore some of the balance we've lost."
Seth Schoen is creating the position of EFF Staff Technologist, helping other technologists understand the civil liberties implications of their work; EFF staff better understand the underlying technology related to EFF's legal work; and the public understand what the technology products they use really do. Schoen comes to EFF from Linuxcare, where he worked for two years as a senior consultant. While at Linuxcare, Schoen helped create the Linuxcare Bootable Business Card CD-ROM. Prior to Linuxcare, Schoen worked at AtreNet, the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Toronto Dominion Bank. Schoen attended the University of California at Berkeley with a Chancellor's Scholarship.
Schoen remarked, "I've been a fan of EFF for many years. I'm honored to become a part of the organization and to have the opportunity to work with such accomplished civil liberties advocates."
For more information about EFF's staff, board of directors and key volunteers, see:
- end -
Come visit the Electronic Frontier Foundation in person at LinuxWorld 2001, August 28-30. We will be taking donations for the important work we do and for the ever-popular EFF bumper stickers. It's a great opportunity to talk with EFF staff about all things EFF. For new members who join on the spot - and for those who ask nicely - we have a special giveaway for the Linux community. We will also have candy if you're hungry.
EFF has 50 free exhibits-only passes to LinuxWorld available. Simply email kevin@eff.org for yours - first come, first served.
EFF at LinuxWorld Location:
Booth #562
Moscone Convention Center
747 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
For more information, please see:
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com
*****
Free Dmitry Party at LinuxWorld
If you're in San Francisco on Wednesday August 29, come check out representatives of EFF at a fundraising party for Dmitry Sklyarov. EFF board member Lawrence Lessig will be speaking, as will Free Software Foundation President Richard Stallman. And there will be beer, music, and much merriment!
Located close to the LinuxWorld Expo:
201 Ritch Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco
7:30 PM to 12 midnight
For more information please see:
*****
Free Dmitry March from LinuxWorld to Federal Building
While you're at LinuxWorld, join EFF members, the Free-Sklyarov mailing list, and the community at large in a protest march to the Federal Building in San Francisco starting at at 11:30 AM on Thursday, August 30. Protesters will gather at Moscone North on the public sidewalk on Howard Street between 3rd and 4th Streets and marching approximately nine blocks to the Federal Building.
For more information please see:
and
- end -
EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
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http://www.eff.org/
Editors:
Katina Bishop, EFF Education & Offline Activism Director
Stanton McCandlish, EFF Technical Director/Webmaster
editors@eff.org
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