NOTES:
At the February HamLUG meeting, I mentioned an excellent article about the
risks posed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). I noted that it
had a minor error that was an ouch but doesn't invalidate the message about
DMCA. The Linux Format article connected Ed Felten with Stanford. I thought
that the British author simply confused USA universities. From the Contact
info in the EFF article below, I learned that Mr. Felten, while still
connected with Princeton University is, indeed, now at Stanford.
The Felten case has been important for computer scientists. Some computer
scientists have already dropped projects that looked highly risky for DMCA
actions. (Dr. Fred Cohen announced on RISKS Digest late last year that he
was abandoning research in computer forensics lest the development of
methods to "crack" encryption for investigations would expose him to DMCA
lawsuits or even arrest.)
The EFF article below says:
"The statements by the government and the recording
industry indicate that they now recognize they can't
use the DMCA to squelch science," added EFF Legal
Director Cindy Cohn. "If they are as good as their
word, science can continue unabated. Should they
backslide, EFF will be there."
This is good news. Maybe Ed Felten and Fred Cohen are safe now. I am
concerned about the dispute I see brewing ahead over "who is a scientist or
a computer security researcher." Hackers of all kinds are still at risk. Of
course, those hackers who use hacking for piracy (according to the
tradition pre-DMCA notions), for fraud, for etc. are perennially subject to
legal liabilities. But the "white hats" and "hacking for humanity" types of
hackers can be at risk for doing things that were not crimes pre-DMCA and
were, in fact, laudable.
Examples: examining software code for security loopholes; studying file
formats and figuring out how to make compatible tools, developing forensics
tools (like Dr. Cohen was doing), writing a driver to read a file on a
Linux or other system for which no reader is available. These reflected a
traditional virtue of self-reliance. Now they are DMCA vices.
Now, many of the people doing such things have been people without formal
science credentials. They are "doing research" in a sense but, alas, it
doesn't have a legal standing. The courts tend to look for educational
credentials and work context. A professor at a recognized university might
fare well. But an Emmanuel Goldstein or a Joe Schmo computerist might lack
such credentials and run into trouble with questions like "Do you have a
computer science degree?", "What scientific methods do you use for
research?" and "In what scientific journal have you published papers?"
(Alas, 2600 or a computer users group newsletter don't carry much weight.)
The DMCA (and other recent intellectual property law trends) is is not a
minor issue affecting a small fringe group. There are significant
implications regarding who can do what with computers and software. In one
possible future scenario, one would not be able to get programming tools or
use them unless the tools are strongly hobbled or one is affiliated with
the right entities. One of the very likely things is the attempt to apply
the matrix of the intellectual property laws against the open source
movement. (E.g.; for allowing *anybody* to modify the code so to deactivate
a routine deemed essential for digital rights management.) There are many
concerns that would prefer a "do not open and look into our product under
the penalty of the law" approach for the future.
Having rambled on so mauch, here's the EFF article via Politech...
.Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 04:31:49 -0500
.To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
.From: Declan McCullagh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
.Subject: FC: EFF calls it quits for Felten DMCA case after loss in
district court
---
Politech Felten archive:
http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=felten
Photos:
http://www.mccullagh.org/cgi-bin/photosearch.cgi?name=felten
---
From: Will Doherty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: EFF: Security Researchers Drop Scientific Censorship Case
Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 00:53:27 -0800
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 6, 2002
Contact:
Cindy Cohn
Legal Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
+1 415 436-9333 x108 (office), +1 415 823-2148 (cell)
Ed Felten
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
+1 650 723-0366 (currently at Stanford University)
Security Researchers Drop Scientific Censorship Case
Government, Industry Claim DMCA Not a Threat to Science
San Francisco - Citing assurances from the government, the
recording industry, and a federal court that the threats
against his research team were ill-conceived and will not
be repeated, Professor Edward Felten and his research team
decided not to appeal the November dismissal of their case
by a New Jersey Federal Court.
The government stated in documents filed with the court in
November 2001 that "scientists attempting to study access
control technologies" are not subject to the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The Recording Industry
Association of America echoed this, stating "we felt Felten
should publish his findings, because everyone benefits from
research into the vulnerabilities of security mechanisms."
"Based on these and other statements from the government
and the recording industry, the judge dismissed our case,"
noted Princeton Professor Ed Felten. "Although we would
have preferred an enforceable court ruling, our research
team decided to take the government and industry at their
word that they will never again threaten publishers of
scientific research that exposes vulnerabilities in
security systems for copyrighted works."
The research team led by Professor Felten included
professors Bede Liu and Daniel Wallach and researchers
Scott Craver, Min Wu, Ben Swartzlander, Adam Stubblefield,
and Richard Drews Dean.
Together with USENIX, an association of over 10,000
technologists that publishes such scientific research,
Princeton Professor Edward Felten and his research team
had asked the court to declare that they have a First
Amendment right to discuss and publish their work, even if
it may discuss weaknesses in the technological systems used
to control digital music. The DMCA, passed in 1998, outlaws
providing technology and information that can be used to
gain access to a copyrighted work.
The recording industry threatened the researchers under the
DMCA for their planned release of a research paper
describing the defects in the proposed Secure Digital Music
Initiative (SDMI) lock-down schemes for audio CDs. The
original threats led the researchers to withdraw the paper
from a planned conference. In response to the lawsuit, the
recording industry promised not to sue the research team or
USENIX for presenting the research at a USENIX security
conference in August 2001.
"The statements by the government and the recording
industry indicate that they now recognize they can't use
the DMCA to squelch science," added EFF Legal Director
Cindy Cohn. "If they are as good as their word, science
can continue unabated. Should they backslide, EFF will be
there."
Documents related to the case:
http://www.eff.org/sc/felten/
This media release:
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20020205_eff_felten_pr.html
About EFF:
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 websites in the world at
http://www.eff.org/
-end-
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