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.
Intellectual Property Cases
- Elektra v. Barker
- Online Policy Group v. Diebold
- Kelly v. Arriba Soft
- Sapient v. GellerEFF is fighting back against Uri Geller -- the "paranormalist" famous for seemingly bending spoons with his mind -- on behalf of a YouTube critic who was silenced by Geller's baseless copyright claims.
- Bowers v. Baystate
- Visa v. JSL Corporation
- taxes.com Litigation
- Marvel v. NCSoft
In The News
- WIRED NEWS | April 11, 2008 Music Label's Copyright Argument is Rubbish
- IP WATCH | April 10, 2008 European Parliament Rejects Proposal to Make ISPs Shut Off Suspected Pirates
- KANSAS CITY INFOZINE | April 08, 2008 Courtroom Showdown for eBay Seller Over Promo CD Sales
Other Resources
- Chilling Effects[chillingeffects.org]
- The Endangered Gizmos list
Related Issues
- Patents
- Digital RadioRIAA's Attempt to Control Recording From the Radio
- IP and Free SpeechLearn 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
- DMCADigital Millennium Copyright Act
Whitepapers
- 2006 Unintended Consequences: Seven 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
- May 09, 2008 Knitwit BBC Goes After Dr Who Fans
- May 08, 2008 House Passes Controversial PRO IP Act
- May 05, 2008 Do You Own Your Software? WoW Glider Case Not Just About Getting to Level 70.
- May 02, 2008 Patent Reform Act Stalls in the Senate
- April 29, 2008 Big Victory in Atlantic v. Howell: Court Rejects RIAA "Making Available" Theory
- April 09, 2008 Liberate the B-24 Liberator!
- April 08, 2008 UMG Says Throwing Away Promo CDs is Illegal
- April 08, 2008 EFF Asks Court to Limit What Is Patentable
Press Releases
- January 31, 2008 EFF Takes Aim at Bogus Online Gaming Patent
- November 15, 2007 EFF Wins Reexamination of Bogus Internet Subdomain Patent
- November 13, 2007 EFF Supports Consumer Right To Repair, Resell Patented Goods
- October 23, 2007 EFF Wins Reexamination of Bogus Patent
- September 11, 2007 EFF Wins Protection for Security Researchers
- August 29, 2007 Back to School for Reading, Writing, and RIAA Lawsuits?
- August 22, 2007 EFF Challenges Bogus Patent on Internet Subdomains
- August 06, 2007 Online CD Seller Fights Universal's Bogus Infringement Allegations


