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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 07, 2004 Academics Get Behind Revisions to DMCA Wireless Access Coming to British Universities United Nations to Address Spam Problem Three Countries to Coordinate Antispam Efforts Report Shows Steep Rise in Software Piracy ACADEMICS GET BEHIND REVISIONS TO DMCA Five academic library organizations, as well as the Association of American Universities, have joined the Personal Technology Freedom Coalition, which is working to gain passage of legislation that would revise portions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act would allow exemptions for fair use from the provision of the DMCA that bans circumvention of antipiracy measures, and it would broaden a current exemption from the anticircumvention provision for certain types of research. Joining the coalition to revise the law are the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association. The bill may come up for a vote during the current Congressional session, though it is opposed by the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which claims jurisdiction over the bill. Chronicle of Higher Education, 9 July 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v50/i44/44a03102.htm WIRELESS ACCESS COMING TO BRITISH UNIVERSITIES British ISP SUBzone plans to install high-speed wireless service at the student unions of more than 55 universities in the United Kingdom. Beginning with the University of Leeds Metropolitan Student Union, the service will eventually cover approximately 1.2 million students. Ken Stratford, general manager at the University of Leeds Metropolitan Student Union, said that wireless access is clearly becoming "an essential part of any modern university environment." According to Stratford, the trial is going well, currently covering "the entire student union building, and you can even get a signal on your laptop from the loo." The network, which is separate from existing networks at the university, provides 802.11a/b/g access. Stratford also noted that the installation will expand to cover potentially as much as a two-mile range. BBC, 4 July 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3854377.stm UNITED NATIONS TO ADDRESS SPAM PROBLEM Officials from a United Nations agency said this week it will work to fight spam on an international scale. According to Robert Horton, the acting chief of the Australian communications authority, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) will work to bring the problem of spam under control within two years. The ITU, which is meeting this week in Geneva to address the growing problem of spam, will write examples of legislation that would allow effective cooperation among governments in fighting spam. Many countries currently lack any legislation dealing with spam, and those that do often have laws that are difficult to reconcile across borders. According to the ITU, spam may account for as much as 85 percent of all e-mail today, as well as a significant portion of text messages received by cell phones. San Jose Mercury News, 6 July 2004 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9089737.htm THREE COUNTRIES TO COORDINATE ANTISPAM EFFORTS The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have agreed to coordinate their efforts to fight spam. Under the agreement, the U.K. Office of Fair Trading, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission will share evidence and investigative information against spammers. The United Kingdom and Australia are expected to benefit from the agreement more than the United States, which is responsible for more global spam than any other country. According to a recent report, the number of spam outbreaks has risen from 350,000 per day to 500,000 since the United States passed the Can Spam Act. The report also estimates that within two years, spam will account for 98 percent of all e-mail. Internet News, 6 July 2004 http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3377451 REPORT SHOWS STEEP RISE IN SOFTWARE PIRACY A new report from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) estimates that pirated software represented 36 percent of all software installations worldwide during 2003, with corresponding losses to software makers of $29 billion. According to the report, financial losses were highest in Western Europe, at $9.6 billion, and the highest levels of piracy were found in China and Vietnam, at 92 percent. The BSA, which represents companies including Microsoft, Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and IBM, largely attributes the rise in software piracy to P2P networks. Jeffrey Hardee, the BSA's Asia-Pacific director, said that governments in the Asia-Pacific region "really do want to develop strong IT sectors. And to do that, there's no question they have to bring down the levels of piracy." CNET, 7 July 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1014_3-5259395.html ***************************************************** 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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