EFFector Vol. 14, No. 23 Sep. 7, 2001 editors@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
EFFector Vol. 14, No. 23 Sep. 7, 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/
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Canadian citizens, and others, are urged to contact the Canadian government and express their opposition to legislation, similar to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the U.S., that would outlaw circumvention of technological restrictions put in place by copyright holders. The Canadian government is accepting public comment until September 15, 2001 on its proposed "Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues" which considers such measures.
These anti-technology bans violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom's guarantee of freedom of speech, and similar guarantees in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, since such tools are necessary to exercise lawful uses, including fair dealing and other uses that have never been and never should be criminalized. They would turn scientists, fair users, journalists, programmers, and archivists into criminals. While protecting copyright is important, passing measures that also censor much lawful speech goes too far, without ever achieving its objective.
Canada is considering adopting anti-circumvention legislation in response to the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) 1996 Copyright Treaty. This treaty, however, does not require enacting national legislation that outlaws technology with many lawful uses. Given the dismal US experience with the DMCA, other countries should learn from and steer clear of the U.S. Congress's mistake.
EFF calls upon the citizens of Canada, and other interested parties around the world, to submit comments by Sept. 15, urging the Canadian agency Intellectual Property Policy Directorate to remove the provisions of the Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues that outlaw the act of circumvention and forbid providing tools for circumvention of technological protection measures restricting use of copyrighted works.
Comments, to be received by the government by September 15, 2001, should be submitted to:
Comments - Government of Canada Copyright Reform
c/o Intellectual Property Policy Directorate
Industry Canada
235 Queen Street
5th Floor West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5 Canada
fax: (613) 941-8151
copyright-droitdauteur@ic.gc.ca (text, HTML, WordPerfect and MSWord formats accepted)
This is just an example. It will be most effective if you send something similar but in your own words.
To Industry Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate and other concerned agencies:
I write to express my grave concern regarding the extreme intellectual property provisions of the Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues (CPCDI).
These measures, based on the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), give far too much power to publishers, at the expense of indivdiuals' rights. The DMCA itself is already under legal challenge in the US, has gravely chilled scientists' and computer security researchers' freedom of expression around the world for fear of being prosecuted in the US, and resulted in the arrest of a Russian programmer. The CPDCI provisions, which serve no one but (largely American) corporate copyright interests, are just as overbroad as those of the DMCA.
These provisions would amend the Canadian Copyright Act to ban, with few or no exceptions, software and other tools that allow copy prevention technologies to be bypassed. This would violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee of freedom of speech, and similar guarantees in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, since such tools are necessary to exercise lawful uses, including fair dealing, reverse engineering, computer security research and many others.
I urge you to remove these controversial and anti-freedom provisions from the CPDCI language. The DMCA is already an international debacle. Its flaws should not be imported and forced on Canadians.
Sincerely,
[Your full name]
[Your address]
For more information about the Canadian Copyright Act amendment process,
including the proposed digital copyright measures and how Canadian citizens
can become involved, see the following Web site:
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
Will Doherty, EFF Online Activist / Media Relations
wild@eff.org
+1 415 436 9333 x111
Robin Gross, EFF Intellectual Property Attorney
robin@eff.org
+1 415 436 9333 x112
- end -
Cindy Cohn, EFF Legal Director
cindy@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x108
Will Doherty, EFF Online Activist / Media Relations
wild@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x111
San Jose, California - Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov and his employer Elcomsoft appeared briefly in court today regarding charges of providing electronic book format conversion software in the United States.
At the hearing -- described as "pretty routine" by defense attorney Joseph Burton -- the case was continued to 9:00 AM on September 24, 2001, in the same San Jose Federal court building. The case was continued so that Elcomsoft will have sufficient time to choose their legal representation and so that both prosecution and defense teams may present a joint schedule for motions and discovery in the case.
Last Thursday, the court heard a five-count grand jury indictment against Elcomsoft and previously jailed programmer Sklyarov on charges of trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in a copyright circumvention device.
Sklyarov -- who is out of custody on US $50,000 bail -- could face a prison term of up to twenty-five years and a US $2,250,000 fine. As a corporation, Elcomsoft faces a potential US $2,500,000 fine.
"Dmitry has programmed a format converter which has many legitimate uses including enabling the blind to hear eBooks," explained Cindy Cohn, Electronic Frontier Foundation Legal Director. "The idea that he faces prison for this is outrageous. The EFF will support Dmitry through the end of this ordeal."
"We were hoping that the government would see the wisdom and justice in not pursuing a case against Sklyarov," said his attorney, Joseph M. Burton of Duane Morris in San Francisco. "Even if one were to ignore the serious legal questions involving the DMCA, this case hardly cries out for criminal prosecution. Sklyarov's and Elcomsoft's actions are not conduct that Congress intended to criminalize. We will vigorously contest these charges."
The next court appearance scheduled in the case is 9:00 AM Pacific on September 24 before Judge Ronald Whyte in the San Jose Federal Court building.
Background on the Sklyarov case:
Calendar of protests related to the Sklyarov case:
Sklyarov Defense Fund (not affiliated with EFF):
- end -
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is pleased to support this essay contest from WIPOUT.
4 September 2001
Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Fellow Activists:
WIPOUT, an international organisation consisting of academics, artists, musicians, and other activists, is today (Sept. 4) launching the Intellectual Property Counter Essay Contest on its website:
http:// www.wipout.net/ The multi-lingual essay contest has been organised in response to the World Intellectual Property Organisation's (WIPO's) own competition announced earlier this year. The counter contest is intended to challenge the over-protection of intellectual property (IP) which is doing much damage to education, health care, the environment, and economic security for millions around the world.
Entrants are being asked to address the same topic that WIPO has posed: WHAT DOES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MEAN TO YOU IN YOUR DAILY LIFE? We expect the counter contest essays to be rather more critical than those that WIPO is soliciting.
The website also has a space for shorter 'Point of View' pieces on the same topic for those who have something to say, but do not want to write an essay.
WIPOUT's contest will continue from 4 September until 15 March 2002. The winning essays will be chosen by an international panel of judges and the results announced on 26 April 2002, the same day that WIPO announces the winners of its contest. WIPOUT's prize fund currently totals 1500.00 UK pounds (approx. US$2100.00).
Unlike submissions to most essay contests, WIPOUT's essays will be immediately posted on the website and accessible to all readers, not just the judges. And although WIPOUT is hosting a 'contest', we see the competitive aspect of the contest secondary to the purpose of enabling a public and critical debate on the over-protection of IP.
More than 40 groups and individuals from 10 countries have, to date, announced their support for WIPOUT. (A complete list can be viewed at www.wipout.net) High-profile endorsers include Noam Chomsky, The Treatment Action Campaign of South Africa, the Gene Campaign of India, British barrister Michael Mansfield, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for the Public Domain in the US.
WIPOUT sees the contest as a way of building on recent high-profile issues such as the South African anti-HIV drugs case, the growing protests against the TRIPS agreement and the WTO, the Napster saga (and increasing resentment against the high price of CDs), the arrest and charging of Dmitry Skylarov, and public concern about GM crops and the patenting of human genes and plants.
The essays can be submitted to WIPOUT in English, French, German, and Spanish. A selection of initial essays, submitted for judging purposes or for the shorter non-judged "point of view" section of the website, has already been posted on the website.
So what can you do?
First, go and check our website, www.wipout.net, and look at the contributions already posted. Then if you want to become a part of the contest and join in the campaign against the over-protection of intellectual property, you can:
- Most obviously, write an essay or a 'Point of View' and submit it to WIPOUT. It will then be posted on our website.
- Become an official endorser of the competition.
- Make a contribution to our prize fund.
- If you run a website, put a link to WIPOUT on your site (a .jpg button can be provided). We are happy to put a reciprocal link on our site.
- If your group or organisation publishes a newsletter/magazine, mention our launch. We have a launch essay we can supply for you.
- Download the Wipout poster and put it up in your workplace, university, school, or local shop.
- Spread the word. Tell others who may be interested by forwarding them this email. There are a lot of people in the world who are extremely unhappy with the effects of the excessive protection of IP. Give them the chance to say what they think.
Finally, keep checking www.wipout.net in coming weeks to read the new submissions. It shows there are others who share your views and want to do something.
Background:
Details of the WIPOUT contest can be found at:
http:// www.wipout.net/ Details of the WIPO contest can be found at:
http:// www.wipo.int/ pressroom/ en/ alert/ 2001/ ma03rev.htm Contact:
Our email address is: contact@wipout.net
- end -
EFF would like to thank The Foundation Center for spotlighting us for the week,
as part of their Spotlight on Nonprofits and Technology Month,
on their main San Franscisco-area page at:
and for profiling us in detail at:
The Foundation Center is an organization that helps nonprofits
find funding sources.
We would also like to express our gratitude to Craig's List,
a popular and important San Francisco Bay Area community
e-bulletin board, for highlighting us with a link on their
main (left-side) navigation menu, for the month, at:
Last but certainly not least a word of thanks, to actor/comedian/webmaster Wil Wheaton ("Wesley Crusher"
on Star Trek: The Next Generation, among other roles such as in Stand By Me and several
recent indie films) for devoting serious
and attention-getting "desktop real estate" on his website to EFF's Blue Ribbon Campaign,
Dmitry Sklyarov's plight, and related anti-DMCA grassroots efforts, at:
Wil is one of the first celebrity voices to come out strongly against the DMCA.
- end -
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) wishes to announce a strengthened partnership with Working Assets. Working Assets will from time to time post EFF Action Alerts to the large member base of their organization.
In fact, Working Assets's WorkingForChange.com website
posted the following alert about Russian programmer
Dmitry Sklyarov this past week:
EFF offers Working Assets hearty thanks for their ongoing efforts and support.
[Disclaimer: EFF does not endorse the commercial products/services of Working Assets, or any other company.]
- end -
EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco CA 94110-1914 USA
+1 415 436 9333 (voice)
+1 415 436 9993 (fax)
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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