Thursday, March 1, 2007

You Can Plead Guilty Here. You Can Plead Guilty Here. The RIAA unveils P2PLawsuits.com, a site that allows people turned in by their universities or ISPs for copyright infringement to settle their cases in advance of due process. In Listening Post. [Wired News: Top Stories] 9:36:31 PM

Lawmakers Tout DMCA Killer. Lawmakers Tout DMCA Killer. The Fair Use Act would free honest consumers to pick the electronic locks on their digital media, under certain circumstances. A congressman says it's a good first step. Luke O'Brien reports from Washington. [Wired News: Top Stories] 9:33:54 PM

NGA Praises Congressional Movement to Correct Real ID. NGA Praises Congressional Movement to Correct Real ID. "The substantial costs and looming implementation deadline make Real ID unworkable and unreasonable." [GT: Security and Privacy] 9:07:42 PM

DHS Proposal for State Driver License Enhancements Posted for Public Comment. DHS Proposal for State Driver License Enhancements Posted for Public Comment. DHS will grant states an extension of the compliance deadline until December 31, 2009. [GT: Security and Privacy] 9:04:53 PM

Legislation eyes nightclubs - Greenwich Time  Pending the mayor's signature, which is expected, all clubs where dancing is permitted will be required to install surveillance cameras at entrances and exits. While some Council members raised privacy concerns, the overwhelming majority agreed the surveillance tapes would be an invaluable deterrent and aid police if a crime is committed. All surveillance tapes must be securely stored, and clubs could be fined up to $50,000 if the footage makes its way onto TV or gossip Web sites. Industry representatives welcomed the surveillance camera vote, but pointed out that 90 percent of clubs with dancing already have such cameras installed. 8:50:56 PM

'Electric Slide' Creator Steps on Fair Use. 'Electric Slide' Creator Steps on Fair Use. EFF Lawsuit Battles Bogus Copyright Claims San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit today against the man who claims to have created the popular line dance "The Electric Slide," asking the court to protect the free speech rights of a videographer who captured a few steps of the dance in a documentary video he posted to the Internet. EFF's client, Kyle Machulis, shot the video at a concert last month. In one ten-second segment, a group of fans in the audience attempts to dance part of the Electric Slide. Machulis later uploaded the video to YouTube. Within just a few days, Richard Silver, owner of www.the-electricslidedance.com, filed a takedown demand under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Silver claimed he owned the copyright to the Electric Slide and that Machulis' video infringed his rights. The removal appears to be part of a broad campaign by Silver to misuse copyright allegations to prevent dancers from performing the dance "incorrectly." "Silver's claim of copyright infringement is absurd and is a classic example of the kind of DMCA abuse that can chill Internet speech," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "Even if Silver had a valid copyright in the dance--which is not at all clear--this is a fair use and not infringing." EFF's complaint asks that the judge immediately rule that the video does not infringe any copyright owned by Silver, and that Silver cease his meritless claims towards Machulis. "We spend a lot of time fighting the misuse of copyright law on the Internet, but this situation is particularly outrageous," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "With thousands of videos being uploaded to sites like YouTube every day, free speech is on the line and needs to be protected." For the full complaint: http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/electricslide/complaint.pdf Contacts: Corynne McSherry Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation corynne@eff.org Jason Schultz Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation jason@eff.org [EFF: Breaking News] 7:23:19 PM

DHS Issues REAL ID Regulations; CDT Urges Repeal of Law. DHS Issues REAL ID Regulations; CDT Urges Repeal of Law. The Department of Homeland Security has issued proposed regulations implementing the REAL ID Act, which would require states to adopt tighter standards and create a networked system for driver's license issuance. Given the Act's fundamental flaws, CDT has joined other civil liberties groups in supporting legislation introduced in recent days in the House and Senate to repeal the hastily-enacted 2005 law and return to the driver's license reform process begun by the previous Congress. CDT is especially concerned that the Act would result in the creation of a linked network of government databases of personal information, without standards or limits on access and use. [Center for Democracy and Technology] 7:17:49 PM

Senators Weigh in on WIPO Broadcast Treaty. Senators Weigh in on WIPO Broadcast Treaty. Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter recently sent a letter to the Copyright Office and the PTO, expressing their concern about the WIPO Broadcast Treaty. In it, they voice many of the same concerns that have brought together a broad alliance of public interest groups, libraries, technology groups, and communications providers against the treaty as it is currently envisioned at WIPO. Specifically, the senators (who are, respectively, the Chair and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee) are worried that granting broadcasters a separate, 20-year-long IP right in broadcasts could interfere with the fair use of works, as well as complicating the legal hoops that consumers would have to jump through. The letter also addresses the fact that copyright owners and ISPs could run into unintended liabilities under the treaty. read more [Public Knowledge - Blogging, Events, and Action Alerts] 7:16:23 PM

© Copyright 2007 Paul Hardwick. Last update: 3/4/07; 8:50:23 AM.