Intellectual Property
You'd like to move the tracks you bought from Rhapsody to a personal stereo like Apple's iPod, but the copy protection prevents you. Creating or using the software necessary to make the switch could put you behind bars.
You want to distribute your band's music, but the P2P system that's revolutionized your ability to reach listeners is being sued out of existence, a company claiming to own a patent to all streaming media technology is demanding licensing fees, and record labels are breathing down your neck over the samples you've looped.
You want to criticize Vivendi Universal on your website or blog, but the plug's been pulled on your "vivendisucks" domain name because of its unflattering reference to the company's trademark.
EFF fights to preserve balance and ensure that the Internet and digital technologies continue to empower you as a consumer, creator, innovator, scholar, and citizen.
Litigation
- RIAA v. The People
- Napster Cases Archive
- MPAA v. The People
- Lava v. Amurao
- UMG v. AugustoOnline CD Seller Fights Universal's Bogus Infringement Allegations Record Industry Claims Would Undermine Right of 'First Sale'
- Blizzard v. BNETD
- The Betamax Case
- MGM v. Grokster
In The News
- CNET NEWS | September 02, 2010 Here come 'Hurt Locker' file-sharing subpoenas
- ARS TECHNICA | August 30, 2010 Defendant, ISP: DC court lacks jurisdiction over 14,000 P2P user
- WIRED NEWS | August 30, 2010 Second Newspaper Chain Joins Copyright Trolling Operation
Other Resources
- Intellectual Property: The Term
- August 14, 2009 Canada Action Alert: Speak Out on the Future of Digital Copyright
- Google Book Search Settlement and Reader Privacy for Authors and Publishers
- Google Book Search Settlement and Reader Privacy
- A Guide to YouTube Removals
- Chilling Effects[chillingeffects.org]
- January 15, 2009 Free Your Phone
- The Endangered Gizmos list
- May 15, 2008 The Lost Art of Orphan Works
Related Issues
- USCG v. The People
- Terms Of (Ab)UseOne cannot go online today without eventually being asked to accept a set of so-called Terms of Service (or TOS). These "terms" are actually purported legal contracts between the user and the online service provider (websites, MMORPGs, communication services, etc.), despite the fact that users never get a chance to negotiate their contents and can often be entirely unaware of their existence.
- Patents
- Digital RadioRIAA's Attempt to Control Recording From the Radio
- No Downtime for Free Speech CampaignLearn about how copyright claims can inhibit free speech
- File SharingFile Sharing and Peer to Peer issues
- Broadcast FlagA mandate would force all future digital televisiontuners to include "content protection" (aka DRM) technologies.
- Digital VideoDigital Video Restrictions
Whitepapers
- 2010 Unintended Consequences: Twelve Years under the DMCA
- 2006 IAAL*: What Peer-to-Peer Developers Need to Know about Copyright Law
- 2005 When Push Comes to Shove: A Hype-Free Guide to Evaluating Technical Solutions to Copyright Infringement on Campus Networks
- 2005 Digital Rights Management: A failure in the developed world, a danger to the developing world
- 2005 Fair Use and Digital Rights Management: Preliminary Thoughts on the (Irreconcilable?) Tension between Them
- 2003 Digital Rights Management: The Skeptics' View
Deeplinks Posts
- September 02, 2010 Righthaven's Brand of Copyright Trolling
- August 25, 2010 Musopen Wants to Give Classical Music to the Public Domain
- August 25, 2010 EFF's Cindy Cohn Wins IP Vanguard Award from State Bar of California
Press Releases
- July 26, 2010 Recording Industry Giant Tries to Undermine 'Safe Harbor' Rules for Online Video Sites
- June 03, 2010 EFF Asks Judges to Quash Subpoenas in Movie-Downloading Lawsuits
- June 02, 2010 EFF Fights for Your Right to Resell CDs in Monday Hearing
Want to learn how you can defend free speech, stand up for privacy, fight for government transparency, support consumer rights, and protect your right to innovation in the digital world? Visit http://eff.org/fight to find ways to help.