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March 31, 2004 |
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California Bill Backed by Hollywood Attacks Internet Privacy
"These California anti-anonymity bills would force everyone - including children - to put their real names and addresses on all the files they trade, regardless of whether the files actually infringe copyrights," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Because the bills require Internet users to post personally identifying information, they fly directly in the face of policy goals and laws that prevent identity theft and spam and protect children and domestic violence victims."
Electronic Frontier Foundation Releases "Monsters of Privacy" Video
"The growing trend toward unchecked government and corporate 'data-veillance' must be stopped," said EFF Activist Ren Bucholz. "By shedding light on the privacy threats that we all face, EFF hopes to galvanize the public to join us in the battle to protect the rights and freedoms we hold dear."
FCC Getting Fuzzy on Digital Television
"If I have paid for high-definition ESPN or HBO, there is no reason that I should be forced to use a lower-quality analog signal just because the motion picture industry wants to impose more content protection restrictions on me," said EFF Senior Intellectual Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "Until the FCC acts to prohibit 'down-rezzing,' consumers won't know whether their DirecTV and cable set-top boxes will continue to provide them with the high-definition content they paid for."
FCC Faces Suit on Regulation of Digital Broadcast Television
"The FCC's digital broadcast television mandate is a step in the wrong direction because it would make digital television cost more and do less, undermining innovation, fair use, and competition," said EFF Senior Intellectual Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann, "The FCC overstepped its bounds, unduly restricting consumers and manufacturers when it issued its broadcast flag ruling."
European Parliament Adopts Controversial IP Enforcement Directive
The European Parliament today voted to adopt an overbroad Directive on
Intellectual Property Enforcement that gives rightsholders powerful new
enforcement tools to use against intellectual property infringers. EFF
opposed the proposed Directive because it did not distinguish between
unintentional, non-commercial infringement by consumers and for-profit
criminal counterfeiting enterprises. "Under this Directive, a person who
unwittingly infringes copyright - even if it has no effect on the market - could potentially have her assets seized, bank accounts frozen, and
home invaded," said EFF staff attorney Gwen Hinze.
Case Update: Pennsylvania Court Orders Record Industry to File 203 Separate Lawsuits
We have just received rulings in two of the cases, one which accepts our argument that the record companies should have to file separate lawsuits against the individual filesharers rather than lump them all into a single case as they have done, and the other which found our arguments helpful, but premature.
Electronic Frontier Foundation Speaks on Privacy Perils of Radio Tags in Libraries
"Adopting RFID technology without strong privacy safeguards is a bad idea," said Tien. "Everyone should have the right to move around freely without facing automatic tracking of their movements."
321 Studios Counts Down for Fair Use Rights
EFF encourages the public to speak out for fair use rights by participating in the week-long campaign led by 321 Studios, makers of the popular DVD backup software recently enjoined by a California district court. "The public's rights to fair use of copyrighted works should not disappear in the face of technological restrictions," said EFF staff attorney Wendy Seltzer. "To bring back copyright's balance, we encourage individuals to write to Congress and the entertainment industry about their expectations when purchasing movies and other media." For more on 321 Studios' "Protect Fair Use" campaign, visit their website, ProtectFairUse.org.
Court Overturns Ban on Posting DVD Descrambling Code, Finding a Free-Speech Violation
"We are thrilled that the Appeal Court recognized that the injunction restricting Andrew Bunner's freedom of speech was not justified," said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Gwen Hinze. "The Court's ruling that there was no evidence that CSS was still a trade secret when Bunner posted DeCSS vindicates what we have said all along: DeCSS has been available on thousands of websites around the world for many years."
Grey Tuesday: Free the Grey Album
An artist named DJ Danger Mouse combines Jay-Z's Black Album with the Beatles' White Album to produce, you guessed it, the Grey Album. Music critics love it. Fans adore it. But the Beatles' record label, EMI, dispatches the lawyers. We've posted a brief discussion of the copyright law issues raised by the Grey Tuesday protest.
European Parliament Considers Warped Intellectual Property Directive
"EFF is urging its members to ask their MEPs to seek an amendment to the proposed European Intellectual Property Enforcement directive because it does not distinguish large-scale commercial infringement and counterfeiting enterprises from unintentional, non-commercial infringement by individuals," said EFF Staff Attorney Gwen Hinze. "If the European Parliament adopts this directive, a person who unwittingly infringes copyright -- even if it has no effect on the market -- could potentially have her assets seized, bank accounts frozen, and home invaded."
Electronic Frontier Foundation Releases File Sharing Recommendations
"Voluntary collective licensing aligns the interests of the music industry with music fans," said EFF Senior Intellectual Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann, "The more people share music, the more artists and copyright holders should receive compensation for their creations."
Court Endorses Ban on DVD Copy Technology
"In passing the DMCA, Congress certainly did not intend to eliminate all consumer copying," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "This court's reading of the statute in the 321 Studios case allows a ban on any tool that enables consumers to copy their DVDs."
Trademark Law Shouldn't Prejudice Internet Ads
"The lower court failed to consider common sense in making its decision to prevent WhenU from placing ads near other company's websites, and we believe the appeals court will recognize that competitive non-deceptive advertising online is not a violation of trademark law."
Internet Pioneer Gives Over $1.2 Million to EFF to Defend Online Freedom
"This generous legacy enables us to establish a permanent source of support for EFF," explained EFF Development Director Terri Forman. "It also leverages a $1 million pledge challenge from one of our co-founders and board members. We are now two-thirds of the way towards our Phase I goal of $3 million."
Record Industry Targets 531 More Filesharers
"The RIAA continues to cut corners in its crusade against filesharers and deny ordinary people the legal protections that are available in all other types of legal cases," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "The courts should require the record industry to sue people individually in the appropriate local courts and provide notice so those sued have a chance to refute accusations of filesharing before the record industry compels an ISP to reveal their identities."
EFF Privacy Coalition Presses Congress for Hearings on Air Traveler Privacy
"The amount of data -- potentially incorrect data -- that the government is asking to access before permitting you to fly is simply astounding," said Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney at EFF. "Doing background checks on every American who chooses air travel doesn't seem like a logical way to keep bombs and weapons off of planes."
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MP3 Caper
Check out EFF's new movie on the RIAA's attack on filesharers.
