Press Releases: June, 2005
Trademark Owners Can't Control Your Desktop
Decision in Internet Ads Case Protects Consumers
AcompliaReport.com Sues for Right to Use Trademark to Report on New Drug
EFF Files Suit to Protect Journalist From Legal Intimidation
San Francisco, CA - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis Group on behalf of Medical Week News, publishers of the medical news website AcompliaReport.com.
Supreme Court Ruling Will Chill Technology Innovation
Copyright Liability Standard in Grokster Decision Endangers P2P and Other New Technologies
MGM v. Grokster Decision Press Conference Today
Conference at Noon Eastern Time, Call-In Number Available to Press
What: Post-Grokster press conference, with members of the StreamCast (Morpheus) and Grokster legal team along with representatives from the technology industry and public interest groups.
When: 12 Noon EDT today, contacts below for phone-in line for press.
Internet Entrepreneur Joe Kraus Joins EFF Board
Founder of DigitalConsumer.org Is a Perfect Fit for Digital Liberties Organization
MGM v. Grokster Press Conference Following Supreme Court Decision
Note: The Electronic Frontier Foundation is participating in this press conference with other members of the Morpheus and Grokster legal teams and public interest groups. We are recirculating this press release from StreamCast (Morpheus) for your information.
What: Post-Grokster press conference, with members of the StreamCast (Morpheus) and Grokster legal team along with representatives from the technology industry and public interest groups including P2PUnited, Public Knowledge, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, and the Computer Electronics Association.
Upholding the Legality of Reverse Engineering
Judges Weigh Issues in Eighth Circuit Videogame Case
Consumer Choice at issue in Oral Argument in Blizzard v. Bnetd
St. Louis, MO - On Monday, June 20, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Blizzard v. BnetD, a case that could dramatically impact consumers' ability to customize software and electronic devices and to obtain customized tools created by others.
Along with co-counsel Paul Grewal of Day Casebeer, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is representing three open source software engineers who reverse-engineered an aspect of Blizzard's Battlenet game server in order to create a free software game server called BnetD that works with lawfully purchased Blizzard games. The BnetD server lets gamers have a wider range of options when playing online. The lower court held that the reverse-engineering of the games needed to create this new option for consumers was illegal.
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals will determine whether the three software programmers were in violation of the anticircumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and Blizzard Games' end user license agreement (EULA). EFF will argue that the DMCA expressly protects the programming and distributing of programs such as BnetD and this protection cannot be undercut by general state contract law as applied to EULAs.
EFF took the case to stand up for consumer choice in the marketplace. Reverse engineering is often the only way to craft a new product that works with older ones. Congress expressly recognized this when it created an exception to the DMCA for reverse engineering. Whether it's allowing gamers to choose a better server for Internet play, or allowing a printer owner to purchase from a range of printer cartridge replacements, reverse engineering is a critical part of innovation in a world where more and more devices need to talk to each other in order to operate correctly.
The hearing will take place Monday, June 20, at 9 a.m. at the Eighth Circuit US Court of Appeals, 27th Floor, Southeast Courtroom, at the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse, 111 South 10th Street in St. Louis, MO.
Contacts:
Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
jason@eff.org
Annalee Newitz
Policy Analyst
Electronic Frontier Foundation
annalee@eff.org
Justice for Bloggers
EFF Announces its New Legal Guide for Bloggers
San Francisco, CA - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is pleased to release a document that informs bloggers of their legal rights. EFF's "Legal Guide for Bloggers" is a collection of frequently asked questions (FAQs) designed to educate bloggers about their legal rights in a number of areas, including libel law, copyright law, and political advocacy.
Fighting Infringement on Campus Peer-to-Peer Networks
New EFF White Paper Helps Universities Understand Their Options
Transparent Lobbying for E-voting Reform This Week
EFF to Provide Live Reports on Lobbying Blitz for E-voting Reform Bill
San Francisco, CA - Tomorrow and Friday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will provide a series of weblog reports on a two-day lobbying effort by a coalition of activist groups fighting for transparent, auditable electronic voting.
Tor Named One of the Year's Best Products
PC World Lauds Free, Anonymous Communication Tool as Superior to Paid Competitors
San Francisco, CA - PC World has included the Tor anonymous Internet communication tool in its list of the year's best products. Tor is being developed with support from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and was previously funded by the US Navy.
