Press Releases: April, 2006
Government Moves to Intervene in AT&T Surveillance Case
DOJ Will Assert Military and State Secrets Privilege and Request Dismissal of Lawsuit
San Francisco - The United States government filed a "Statement of Interest" Friday in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) class-action lawsuit against AT&T, announcing that the government would "assert the military and state secrets privilege" and "intervene to seek dismissal" of the case.
EFF Honors Craigslist, Gigi Sohn, and Jimmy Wales with Pioneer Awards
15th Annual Ceremony Highlights Innovations in Information Technology
Washington, DC - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will honor craigslist and its leaders, Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster; Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge; and Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia at its 15th annual Pioneer Awards ceremony. The presentation is at 7pm on Wednesday, May 3 at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, in conjunction with the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy conference (CFP).
Court Case to Determine Rights of Online Journalists
Arguments Set for April 20 in San Jose
San Jose - On April 20, EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl will argue Apple v. Does
EFF Debate: "Email - Should the Sender Pay?"
Esther Dyson and Danny O'Brien Face Off April 20 in San Francisco
San Francisco - What is the future of email? Should anyone ever have to pay to send it? Or would payments undermine free speech on the Internet? These are just a few of the questions raised recently by AOL's controversial plans to adopt a "certified" email system.
Digital Copyright Law Hurts Consumers, Scientists, and Competition
EFF Report Highlights More Unintended Consequences in Seven Years of DMCA
EFF Files Evidence in Motion to Stop AT&T's Dragnet Surveillance
Internal AT&T Documents Had Been Temporarily Held Back Due To Government's Concerns
EFF Challenges Dangerous Patent on Internet Test-Taking
Illegitimate Patent Chills Distance Learning and University Education
San Francisco - An extremely broad patent claiming to cover almost all methods of online testing is coming under fire today.
Test.com has used this illegitimate patent to demand payments from universities with distance education programs that give tests online. However, a patent reexamination application filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today shows that Test.com wasn't the first to come up with this testing method.
"Bogus patents like this one highlight the problems with the current patent system. This is a good example of exactly what needs to be fixed to make patents useful to innovators and educators alike," Schultz said.
In conjunction with Theodore C. McCullough of the Lemaire Patent Law Firm, EFF filed a request for reexamination with the United States Patent and Trademark Office showing that IntraLearn Software Corporation had been marketing an online test-taking system long before Test.com filed its patent request. But Test.com claims that its patent allows it to collect license fees for virtually all online testing methods, preventing educators from developing online coursework and communicating with students over the Internet. As online testing is critical to Internet education, the enforcement of this patent threats academic speech and academic freedom.
"Our nation's education system already faces severe budget constraints and a shortage of resources," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "We shouldn't be diverting resources away from teaching to pay off bogus patent threats."
The challenge to the Test.com patent is the second filing from EFF's Patent Busting Project, which combats the chilling effects bad patents have on public and consumer interests. The first reexamination request was granted on Monday and involves a Clear Channel patent for a system and method of creating recordings of live performances, locking musical acts into using Clear Channel technology and blocking innovations by others.
Just last week, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in the eBay v. MercExchange patent case, signaling how important patent issues are in today's economy. EFF filed an amicus brief in that case, asking justices to consider the critical free speech implications in its ruling.
For the full Test.com patent reexamination request:
http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/test/testcom_reexam.pdf
For more on EFF's Patent Busting Project:
http://www.eff.org/patent/
For more on IntraLearn Software:
http://www.intralearn.com/
For more on eBay v. MercExchange:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/ebay_v_mercexchange/
Contacts:
Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
jason@eff.org
Jerry Goguen
IntraLearn Software Corporation
jgoguen@intralearn.com
Theodore C. McCullough
Attorney
Lemaire Patent Law Firm
Citizens Lobby Congress for Reliable Electronic Voting
Hundreds Join EFF and Other Groups to Fight for Election Integrity
San Francisco - Hundreds of citizen lobbyists from across the nation will be in Washington, DC, this coming Thursday and Friday, working to help secure the future of safe, reliable electronic voting through the passage of HR 550 -- the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act. HR 550 would ensure a voter-verified paper record of every vote, establish mandatory random hand-counted audits, and prohibit the use of secret software and wireless communications in voting machines.
Bogus Clear Channel Patent May Be Revoked
Patent Office Orders Reexamination at EFF's Request
San Francisco - At the request of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) today agreed to reexamine an illegitimate patent held by Clear Channel Communications. The patent -- for a system and method of creating digital recordings of live performances -- locks musical acts into using Clear Channel technology and blocks innovations by others.
"The Patent Office agrees that there are serious questions about the patent's validity," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "This is a significant victory for artists and innovators harmed by Clear Channel's patent and for anyone concerned about overreaching, illegitimate patents."
Clear Channel now has two months to file comments defending its patent, to which EFF will get to respond. The PTO will then determine whether to invalidate the patent. In roughly 70% of instances like this one in which a request for reexamination is granted, the patent is narrowed or completely revoked.
"Patents serve an important role in our economy," said Schultz. "Keeping illegitimate patents out of that system benefits all of us, helping up-and-coming artists and entrepreneurs."
EFF filed the request for reexamination in conjunction with Theodore C. McCullough of the Lemaire Patent Law Firm and with the help of students at the Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Clinic at American University's Washington College of Law. The Clear Channel patent challenge is part of EFF's Patent Busting Project, aimed at combating the chilling effects bad patents have on public and consumer interests. The Patent Busting Project seeks to document the threats and fight back by filing requests for reexamination against the worst offenders.
For more information about EFF's request and Clear Channel's patent:
http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/patent.php?p=clearchannel
For EFF's Patent Busting Project:
http://www.eff.org/patent/
Contacts:
Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
jason@eff.org
Theodore C. McCullough
Attorney
Lemaire Patent Law Firm
