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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, JULY 02, 2004 Final Rules Released for SEVIS Fee Appeals Court Says ISPs Can Read E-Mail Canadian Court Rejects Plan to Charge ISPs Royalties Microsoft Settles Lawsuits in Minnesota and Vermont FINAL RULES RELEASED FOR SEVIS FEE The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized its rules for fees that foreign students must pay to enroll in the mandatory Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). The final regulations, which closely mirror the draft released in October 2003, require most visiting students and other academics to pay a $100 fee, paid by mail or by credit card online. Some students, including those working as au pairs or camp counselors, will only pay $35. Students must pay the SEVIS fee before applying for their visas. Some colleges and universities had objected to the amount of the fees, which are intended to offset administration and enforcement of the system, saying the fee would discourage some students from applying. Other objections focused on the available methods of payment, which some said would constitute still more barriers to foreign students. In the end, DHS left the fee amounts at proposed levels and said that implementing a new means of collection is not possible before the September 1 deadline. Still, DHS said it would consider other collection options for future implementation. Chronicle of Higher Education, 2 July 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2004/07/2004070202n.htm APPEALS COURT SAYS ISPS CAN READ E-MAIL A federal appeals court has upheld a lower-court ruling to dismiss charges against Bradford Councilman, who was charged under the Wiretap Act for reading others' e-mail. Councilman operated an online bookselling company called Interloc and offered some customers "@interloc.com" e-mail addresses, making the company an ISP. Councilman is alleged to have made copies of e-mail that came from Amazon, in an attempt to gain competitive advantage. The appeals court ruled that the e-mails were saved, if only momentarily in a computer's memory, and were technically not intercepted. Because the Wiretap Act applies to intercepted transmissions, the court ruled that it does not apply in this case. The court admitted the law may be "out of step" with current technologies but said that, as written, the Wiretap Act does not prohibit Councilman's actions. Andrew Good, one of Councilman's attorneys, said many ISPs, including employers and educational institutions, look at incoming e-mail, such as when they perform virus scans. Finding Councilman guilty, said Good, would make all such actions by ISPs illegal. Privacy advocates disagreed, however, and said the decision sets a dangerous precedent for reading electronic conversations, including voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone calls. CNET, 30 June 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5253782.html CANADIAN COURT REJECTS PLAN TO CHARGE ISPS ROYALTIES The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that ISPs cannot be required to pay royalties to record companies for the music that users download. Representatives of the music industry had lobbied the courts to compel such royalties, but the Supreme Court said, "It is clear that Parliament did not want copyright disputes between creators and users to be visited on the heads of the Internet intermediaries." The Court did acknowledge that although use of the Internet should be encouraged, it should not happen "at the expense" of those who create original works. Nevertheless, the Court said ISPs should not bear the burden of copyright enforcement. The decision is the second in the past three months that favored ISPs over copyright owners. In March, a Canadian court ruled against record companies that had sought to force ISPs to divulge the identities of file traders suspected of copyright infringement. Reuters, 30 June 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=5557579 MICROSOFT SETTLES LAWSUITS IN MINNESOTA AND VERMONT In its ongoing antitrust battles, Microsoft has settled cases with the states of Minnesota--whose case was the only one to go to trial--and Vermont. Microsoft has been accused of anticompetitive practices that drove other companies out of business and allowed Microsoft to overcharge consumers. In both states, as in other Microsoft settlements, the company will offer consumers vouchers that can be redeemed for hardware or software from any company. In Vermont, the total for the vouchers is $9.7 million; 50 percent of unused vouchers will be given to the state's public schools. In Minnesota, where the trial had begun seven weeks ago, Microsoft agreed to provide vouchers for $174.5 million, again with one-half of unused vouchers going to Minnesota public schools. In Minnesota, however, Microsoft also agreed to cash payments. Under the settlement, the company will give $2.5 million in cash to the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology, as well as $2.5 million in vouchers. Microsoft will also pay another $2.5 million in cash to the Minnesota Legal Aid Society. Internet News, 2 July 2004 http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3376521 ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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