Press Releases: May, 2006
Huge Win for Online Journalists' Source Protection
EFF Arguments Secure Reporters' Privilege for Internet News Gatherers
San Jose - A California state appeals court ruled in favor of the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) petition on behalf of three online journalists Friday, holding that the online journalists have the same right to protect the confidentiality of their sources as offline reporters do.
Key Portions of Critical Documents Unsealed in AT&T Surveillance Case
Technician Describes Secret NSA Room at AT&T Facility
San Francisco - AT&T has set up a secret, secure room for the NSA in at least one of the company's facilities -- a room into which AT&T has been diverting its customers' emails and other Internet communications in bulk -- according to evidence in key documents partially unsealed today in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) class-action lawsuit against the telecom giant.
Judge Grants Final Approval for Sony BMG CD Settlement
Customers Will Get Compensation for Flawed Copy-Protection
New York - A U.S. District Court judge in New York gave final approval Monday to a settlement for music fans who purchased Sony BMG music CDs containing flawed copy protection programs.
"This settlement gets music fans what they thought they were buying in the first place: music that will play on all their electronic devices without installing sneaky software," said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Legal Director Cindy Cohn.
Internet Test-Taking Patent Draws Official Suspicion
EFF Wins Second Reexamination from Patent Office
San Francisco - At the request of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will reexamine a controversial patent for online test-taking from Test.com. The reexamination order is the second granted in just two months after petitions from EFF's Patent Busting Project.
EFF filed the reexamination request because the extremely broad patent claims to cover almost all methods of online testing. Test.com has used this patent to demand payments from universities with distance education programs that give tests online. But EFF, in conjunction with Theodore C. McCullough of the Lemaire Patent Law Firm, showed that Test.com was not the first to come up with this testing method -- IntraLearn Software Corporation had been marketing an online test-taking system long before Test.com filed its patent request.
"Bogus patents like these are hurting innovation and education in America," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz, who heads up the project. "This is a perfect example of how the patent system is broken and what needs to be fixed."
Test.com now has the opportunity to file comments defending the patent, and then the PTO will determine whether to invalidate the patent. The PTO has narrowed or revoked roughly 70% of patents it has decided to reexamine.
The successful reexamination request for the Test.com patent is the latest big victory for EFF's Patent Busting Project, which combats the chilling effects bad patents have on the public interest and innovation. The first reexamination request was granted in April 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.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on the eBay patent case, signaling how important patent issues are in today's economy. In a unanimous decision, justices overturned a dangerous injunction rule that threatened free speech and consumers' rights -- following the reasoning outlined in an amicus brief from EFF. Four justices also joined in a concurring opinion questioning so-called "patent trolls" and business methods patents, which could foreshadow future intellectual property showdowns in the nation's highest court.
For the full reexamination order:
http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/test/test_com_reexam_order.pdf
For more information about the Test.com patent reexamination:
http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/patent.php?p=test
For more on the Patent Busting Project:
http://www.eff.org/patent/
Contact:
Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
jason@eff.org
EFF Can Use Critical AT&T Documents in Surveillance Lawsuit
Evidence For Illegal Spying Case Will Remain Under Seal for Now
San Francisco - A federal judge in San Francisco ruled today that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) can use critical evidence in its class-action lawsuit against AT&T. However, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said the evidence -- three documents that AT&T alleges are proprietary and contain the company's trade secrets -- will be kept under seal for now.
Judge Denies AT&T Request to Discuss Closing Courtroom
Wednesday's Arguments on Sealed Documents Set for 10am
San Francisco - The judge in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) class-action lawsuit against AT&T denied a request for a conference today about closing the courtroom from reporters and spectators for tomorrow's hearing in the case, set to begin at 10 a.m. at U.S. District Court in San Francisco, courtroom 6.
AT&T Wants Closed Courtroom in Tomorrow's Hearing in Surveillance Case
Telecom Giant Wants to Keep Public Away from Document Debate
San Francisco - Lawyers for AT&T alerted the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today that it intends to ask the judge to close the courtroom in Wednesday's hearing in EFF's class-action lawsuit. EFF will oppose the request.
Supreme Court Reverses Dangerous Injunction Rule in eBay Patent Case
Four Justices Question Patent Trolls and Business Methods Patents in Concurring Opinion
San Francisco - The United States Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision in the controversial eBay v. MercExchange patent case Monday, invalidating a dangerous precedent that threatened free speech and consumers' rights. Four justices also joined in a concurring opinion questioning so-called "patent trolls" and business methods patents, which could foreshadow future intellectual property showdowns in the nation's highest court.
In Monday's decision, the court unanimously held that issuing automatic injunctions in patent cases improperly removed discretion from trial judges to weigh competing factors, including the effect that enforcing the patent would have on the public interest. This follows the reasoning outlined in a friend-of-the-court brief filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which urged the justices to overrule the lower court and protect the public interest in free speech, innovation, and education.
"More and more people are using the Internet to exercise free speech and other individual rights," said Staff Attorney Jason Schultz, one of the authors of the EFF brief. "The court's ruling will allow judges to protect those rights in patent cases."
The lower court's ruling stemmed in part from a misperception that patents are just like other forms of property, with the same rights and remedies. However, Supreme Court rulings have repeatedly emphasized that patents are a unique form of property, designed to achieve a specific public purpose: the promotion of scientific and industrial progress. Additionally, the concurrence written by Justice Anthony Kennedy and joined by Justices David Souter, John Paul Stevens, and Stephen Breyer noted that the current patent system may be suffering ill effects from business method patents and so-called "patent troll" companies.
"An industry has developed in which firms use patents not as a basis for producing and selling goods but, instead, primarily for obtaining licensing fees," Justice Kennedy wrote. "In addition injunctive relief may have different consequences for the burgeoning number of patents over business methods
Government Files Secret Motion to Dismiss AT&T Surveillance Case
DOJ Intervention Comes Just Days Before Hearing on Sealed Evidence
San Francisco - Early Saturday morning, the United States government filed a motion to dismiss the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) class-action lawsuit against AT&T for illegally handing over its customers' telephone and Internet records and communications to the National Security Agency. The government claims that its legal brief and two affidavits from senior intelligence officials that accompanied the motion are classified, preventing even the parties to the lawsuit, EFF and AT&T, from seeing them.
Court Slows EFF Efforts to Address Ohio E-voting Malfunctions
Decision Delays Inquiry Into State's History of Voting Machine Problems
San Francisco - The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a critical lawsuit aimed at improving the security and integrity of Ohio's voting technology will be put on hold indefinitely. The ruling halts case proceedings until the appeal of the government's motion to dismiss is decided and seriously jeopardizes the chances that critical procedural improvements will be in place by the time voters enter polling places in November.
AOL Starts Pay-to-Send Email Shakedown
"Certified Mail" Allows Mass Mailers to Bypass Spam Filters
San Francisco - AOL has quietly flipped the switch on its "certified mail" service, delivering pay-to-send email to some of its millions of customers.
The Goodmail CertifiedEmail service allows large mass-emailers to pay a fee to bypass AOL's spam filters and get guaranteed delivery directly into AOL customers' inboxes. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) believes the pay-to-send model could leave nonprofits, small businesses, and other groups with increasingly unreliable service.
