Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 15, No. 206.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
<http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 08:28:19 +0100
From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org>
Subject: ACM files declaration in lawsuit challenging DMCA
NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources
from across the Community
August 30, 2001
ACM FILES DECLARATION IN LAWSUIT CHALLENGING THE DMCA
http://www.acm.org/felten/
ACM SUGGESTS CHANGES TO THE FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS TREATY
http://www.acm/usacm
The Association for Computing Machinery has submitted an important
declaration in the Felten v. RIAA lawsuit to help the court understand the
practical effect
of the issues at stake. The case challenges the legality of the
anti-circumvention portions of the DMCA, arguing "that its broad
prohibitions on disseminating information and technology restrict speech
protected by the First Amendment."
David Green
===========
>From: Jeff Grove <jeff_grove@ACM.ORG>
>>To: WASHINGTON-UPDATE@ACM.ORG
FROM:
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ACM WASHINGTON UPDATE
Association for Computing Machinery Office of Public Policy
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August 30, 2001 Volume 5.5
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<<SNIP>>
POLICY BRIEFS
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ACM FILES DECLARATION IN LAWSUIT CHALLENGING THE DMCA
On August 13, 2001, ACM submitted a declaration in federal court regarding
the legal challenge to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the
Felten v. RIAA lawsuit. The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District
Court for the District of New Jersey by a number of computing
researchers. Led by Princeton University computer scientist Edward
Felten, the plaintiffs are asking the court to rule portions of the DMCA
unconstitutional, arguing that its broad prohibitions on disseminating
information and technology restrict speech protected by the First Amendment.
ACM's declaration seeks to help the court understand the practical effect
of the issues at stake in this case. "It is imperative for the court to
understand that the application of any law that may limit the freedom to
publish research on computer technology will impose a cost on the academic
community, the process of scientific discourse, and society in general,"
stated Dr. John R. White, ACM's Executive Director. "We believe the threat
of litigation under the DMCA will have a profound chilling effect on
analysis, research, and publication."
ACM is a leading publisher of scientific information and sponsors over 80
professional computing conferences each year. In addition to harming the
progress of research, the risk of legal liability under the DMCA also
threatens ACM's publication and sponsorship of professional computing
conferences that might include scientific papers assessing the strengths
and weaknesses of computer and data security measures. Noting that ACM has
earned a respected reputation for choosing strong scientific papers for its
conferences and publications without regard to political or commercial
pressure, White concluded, "ACM could adopt a policy of steering clear of
scientific papers that could subject us to liability under the DMCA, but
that could only be done at a risk of sacrificing our mission and damaging
our reputation as a scientific society."
To review a copy of ACM's declaration, see http://www.acm.org/felten/
To review a copy of Computing Research Association's declaration, see:
http://lazowska.cs.washington.edu/felten/
USACM has engaged in a number of DMCA related activities which may be found
at: http://www.acm.org/usacm/IP/#copyright
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ACM SUGGESTS CHANGES TO THE FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS TREATY
The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is a treaty process to establish
trade agreements between 34 countries in the Western hemisphere (including
the U.S.). As part of the process, participants are negotiating treaty
language that would require nation-signatories to pass copyright
legislation in each of their national forums that mandates strict
anti-circumvention measures similar to (or even expanding) restrictions
imposed in the U.S. by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). Prior
to a recent meeting of the FTAA Negotiating Group on Intellectual Property
Rights, ACM sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick
urging that any similar provisions be removed from the final FTAA treaty
language. ACM expressed concern that the broad restrictions on research
contained in the proposed treaty language could unjustly harm the freedom
of computer scientists to engage in research fundamental to the progress of
innovation. USACM expressed similar concerns.
To review the ACM letter, please see the USACM web site at:
http://www.acm/usacm
To review the proposed FTAA treaty language, please see the web site:
http://www.ftaa-alca.org/ftaadraft/eng/draft_e.doc
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<<SNIP>>
The Association for Computing Machinery is an international professional
society whose 80,000 members (60,000 in the U.S.) represent a critical mass
of computer professionals in education, industry, and government. The USACM
provides a means for promoting dialogue on technology policy issues with
United States policy makers and the general public. The WASHINGTON UPDATE
reports on activities which may be of interest to those in the computing
and information policy communities and will highlight USACM's involvement
in many of these issues.
To subscribe to the ACM WASHINGTON UPDATE send an e-mail to
listserv@acm.org with "subscribe WASHINGTON-UPDATE" (no quotes) in the body
of the message. Back issues are available at:
http://www.acm.org/usacm
For information about joining the Association for Computing Machinery, see:
http://www.acm.org/membership/join.html
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