Skip to main content
EFFecting Change Livestream Series: How to Protest with Privacy in Mind

EFFector - Volume 14, Issue 15 - FBI Arrests Programmer in Las Vegas for eBook Software

EFFECTOR

EFFector - Volume 14, Issue 15 - FBI Arrests Programmer in Las Vegas for eBook Software

   EFFector       Vol. 14, No. 15       July 22, 2001     editor@eff.org

   A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation     ISSN 1062-9424

    In the 175th Issue of EFFector (now with over 28,000 subscribers!):

     * FBI Arrests Programmer in Las Vegas for eBook Software
     * EFF Statement on the Arrest of Dmitry Sklyarov
     * EFF Letter From Executive Director Shari Steele to Attorney
       General John Ashcroft (July 20, 2001)
     * Respected British Scientist Resigns from US-Based
       Conference-Planning Committee, Citing Fear of Prosecution under
       DMCA
     * Electronic Publishers Coalition Condemns Criminal Use of DMCA
     * Linux Community Joint Statement Against DMCA: Digital Millennium
       Copyright Act Threatens Researchers
     * EFF's Music Share-In in Golden Gate Park, Supporting our Open
       Audio License
     * Join EFF in Fundraising Dinner with Ed Felten, Washington, D.C.,
       Aug. 15.
     * Administrivia

   For more information on EFF activities & alerts: http://www.eff.org

   To join EFF or make an additional donation:
   http://www.eff.org/support/
   EFF is a member-supported non-profit. Please sign up as a member
   today!
     _________________________________________________________________

FBI Arrests Programmer in Las Vegas for eBook Software;

  Russian Distributed Tool that Increases Purchasers' Control of eBooks

    Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

    For Immediate Release: July 17, 2001

    Contact:

     Robin Gross, EFF Staff Attorney,
       robin@eff.org,
       +1 415 436 9333 x209

     Will Doherty, EFF Online Activist / Media Relations,
       wild@eff.org,
       +1 415 436 9333 x111

   San Francisco - The FBI arrested Russian citizen Dmitry Sklyarov in
   Las Vegas, Nevada, yesterday on charges of distributing a product
   designed to circumvent copyright protection measures. Sklyarov, who
   was in Las Vegas to deliver a lecture on electronic book security,
   allegedly authored a program which permits editing, copying, and
   printing of electronic books by unlocking a proprietary Adobe
   electronic book format. DoJ/US Attorney press release:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/
   20010717_doj_sklyarov_pr.html

   Charged
   in one of the first United States criminal prosecutions under the
   Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), Sklyarov is currently in
   custody in Las Vegas pending transfer to the Northern California US
   Federal District Court. For the full text of the complaint, see:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/20010707_complaint.html
   For more on the DMCA, see:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/

   The case involves Advanced eBook Processor (AEBPR), software developed
   by Sklyarov's Russian employer Elcomsoft. According to the company's
   website, the software permits eBook owners to translate from Adobe's
   secure eBook format into the more common Portable Document Format
   (PDF). The company maintains that the software only works on
   legitimately purchased eBooks.

   Adobe's eBook format restricts the manner in which a legitimate eBook
   buyer may read, print, back up, and store electronic books. The
   Advanced eBook Processor appears to remove these usage restrictions,
   permitting an eBook consumer to enjoy the ability to move the
   electronic book between computers, make backup copies, and print. Many
   of these personal, non-commercial activities may constitute fair use
   under U.S. copyright law. Of course, the Advanced eBook Processor
   software may also make it easier to infringe copyrights, since eBooks,
   once translated into open formats like PDF, may be distributed in
   illegitimate ways.

   Robin Gross, attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF),
   explained, "The U.S. government for the first time is prosecuting a
   programmer for building a tool that may be used for many purposes,
   including those that legitimate purchasers need in order to exercise
   their fair use rights."

   Jennifer Granick, Clinical Director at the Stanford Law School Center
   for Internet and Society, commented that "the DMCA says that companies
   can use technology to take away fair use, but programmers can't use
   technology to take fair use back. Now the government is spending
   taxpayer money putting people from other countries in jail to protect
   multinational corporate profits at the expense of free speech."

   Alexander Katalov, President and Owner of Elcomsoft, expressed anger
   and disappoint over Sklyarov's arrest: "Dimitry is only one of the
   programmers who worked on this program, so I don't understand why it
   is his sole responsibility. In Russia, we have no law like the DMCA.
   In fact, distributing Adobe's eBook software is illegal in Russia,
   since Russian law requires that the software permit the purchaser to
   make at least one legal copy."

   For a copy of the federal complaint against Sklyarov see:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/20010707_complaint.html

   For the Department of Justice press release on the case see:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/
   20010717_doj_sklyarov_pr.html

   For information on other DMCA-related cases see:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/

   To join the free-sklyarov mailing list, see:
     http://zork.net/mailman/listinfo/free-sklyarov/

   Elcomsoft Website:
     http://www.elcomsoft.com/

   Two protest sites that are organizing rallies:
     http://www.freesklyarov.org/
     http://www.boycottadobe.org/
   (Note: EFF does not presently endorse an Adobe boycott; we are meeting
   with senior Adobe VPs and legal staff Mon. morning, July 23, and hope
   to convince them to reverse their position on Sklyarov, and urge the
   Dept. of Justice to drop the case and set him free.)

   Adobe Systems Inc. Website:
     http://www.adobe.com/

  About EFF:

   The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
   organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded
   in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and
   government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the
   information society. EFF is a member-supported organization and
   maintains one of the most linked-to Web sites in the world:
     http://www.eff.org/

                                  - end -
     _________________________________________________________________


EFF Statement on the Arrest of Dmitry Sklyarov

  from Executive Director Shari Steele

   Once again, the Digital Millineum Copyright Act (DMCA) is proving
   itself to be as harmful to civil liberties as we predicted it would
   be. The latest victim is a Russian programmer named Dmitry Sklyarov,
   who authored a program that permits editing, copying, and printing of
   electronic books by unlocking a proprietary Adobe electronic book
   format.

   Mr. Sklyarov has been brought up on criminal charges under the DMCA
   for distributing a product designed to circumvent copyright protection
   measures. This is different than the 2600 and Felten cases, which are
   civil lawsuits. In a civil lawsuit, one private citizen (or company)
   sues another for money and/or the cessation of a particular action. In
   a criminal case, the government brings charges against an individual
   (or company) and the punishment for conviction can be prison and/or
   fines. Info on the 2600 Case:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/MPAA_DVD_cases/
   Info on the Felten case:
     http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/Felten_v_RIAA/

   EFF has been in contact with the Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA)'s
   office trying to track Mr. Sklyarov's whereabouts and speak with him
   directly. While the arrest took place in Las Vegas, the complaint was
   executed in San Jose, meaning that Mr. Sklyarov will be sent to
   California to stand trial. We have spoken with his colleagues,
   criminal defense attorneys and others to help with his defense. After
   he arrives in California, our first order of business is to get Mr.
   Sklyarov out of jail on a bond pending his trial. EFF has begun to
   pull together a top-notch legal team to help him defend his right to
   talk about and distribute the Advanced eBook Processor software
   program, and we'll be ready to step in as soon as it is appropriate.
   Full text of the complaint:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/20010707_complaint.html

   EFF knew when we took on the 2600 Case over a year ago that fixing the
   DMCA would require several legal challenges. EFF remains committed to
   chipping away at this law until it no longer poses a threat to our
   right to free speech.

   Lest anyone be confused, this case is not about copyright
   infringement. Mr. Sklyarov is not accused of infringing anyone's
   copyrights. He is accused of building the Advanced eBook Processor, a
   tool that allows the legitimate purchaser of an e-book to translate it
   from one digital format into another (from Adobe's eBook format into
   Adobe's Portable Document Format). Mr. Sklyarov is not being
   prosecuted for using the tool himself -- in fact, such a prosecution
   would be impossible, since using such a tool (as distinguished from
   building or distributing one) breaks no law. Mr. Sklyarov has entered
   the strange Twilight Zone of the DMCA, where using a tool is legal,
   but building it is a crime.

   We invite your support. If you are not yet an EFF member, please join
   with us at http://www.eff.org/support . If you already are a member
   and wish to make a donation, you can use that same link to get to our
   donation page.

   Together we will keep the pressure on anyone who chooses to degrade
   our basic rights. Thanks for your help.

   Shari Steele, EFF Executive Director
   July 18, 2001

                                  - end -
     _________________________________________________________________


EFF Letter From Executive Director Shari Steele

  to Attorney General John Ashcroft (July 20, 2001)

   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   454 Shotwell Street
   San Francisco CA 94110

   The Honorable John Ashcroft
   Attorney General
   Department of Justice
   950 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
   Washington, D.C. 20530

   July 20, 2001

   Dear Attorney General Ashcroft:

   At the request of Adobe Corporation, Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested by
   the FBI on July 16th and charged with crimes under the Digital
   Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Mr. Sklyarov is a Russian national
   who came to the United States to deliver an academic presentation on
   his technological innovations. His arrest and subsequent detention
   without bail are shameful and opportunistic actions against an
   individual who was here simply to share his knowledge and technical
   expertise with American scientists.

   Dmitry Sklyarov is not accused of any copyright infringement of any
   sort. He is a computer programmer. He stands accused of writing
   software that enables purchasers of electronic books to exercise their
   lawful fair use rights when viewing their eBooks. Such software is
   both legal and required in Russia, where it was written and developed.
   And while the DMCA does not prohibit its use in the US, providing the
   technology is banned under the DMCA. Courts have determined time and
   time again that computer code is creative expression worthy of First
   Amendment protection. Mr. Sklyarov is currently being held captive for
   the content of his ideas that demonstrate the flaws in Adobe's
   software and because he expressed them in the most precise scientific
   language available to his profession, computer code. Mr. Sklyarov's
   right to free expression under the U.S. Constitution and international
   treaty obligations must be respected.

   Not only are Dmitry Sklyarov's human and civil rights being abused,
   the inability of programmers to distribute fair use tools infringes on
   the free speech rights of all of citizens who legitimately need them.
   Fair use is an integral part of the bargain of rights struck between
   the public and authors under U.S. copyright law. The U.S. Supreme
   Court has held that fair use provides the necessary breathing room to
   prevent a conflict between copyright and the guarantees of freedom of
   expression under the First Amendment. Although the Constitution
   mandates that copyrighted works pass into the public domain, the DMCA
   has outlawed all tools necessary to gain access to the works, even
   after those works rightfully belong to the public. Technology permits
   publishers to restrict access to and control the use of copyrighted
   works in ways that dangerously exceed the bounds of copyright,
   encroaching upon the public's rights to use and access knowledge.

   While copyright holders are not accountable for the manner in which
   they release a work, the people must be permitted to take necessary
   steps in order to exercise their rights under the law. Jailing Dmitry
   Sklyarov strips people everywhere of that right and chills important
   research. The DMCA must be reigned in to comport with the limits set
   by the US Constitution.

   When the DMCA was passing through Congress in 1998, the copyright
   industry promised it was needed as a shield for protection. Now as
   law, its used as a powerful sword to squelch speech and competition
   and kill fair use. Congress never intended for the DMCA to destroy
   fair use, in fact it expressly tried to protect it. As Attorney
   General, we ask that you honor this intent and your obligation to
   uphold the Constitution by dropping the charges against Dmitry
   Sklyarov and allowing him to return home to his wife and two small
   children.

   Sincerely,

   Shari Steele
   Executive Director
   Electronic Frontier Foundation

                                  - end -
     _________________________________________________________________


Respected British Scientist Resigns from US-Based Conference-Planning Committee

  Citing Fear of Prosecution under DMCA

   UK scientist & programmer Alan Cox, a key member of the USENIX Annual
   Linux Showcase (ALS) planning committee, has resigned in the wake of
   the arrest of DEFCON presenter Dmitry Sklyarov and legal threats
   against USENIX presenter Prof. Edward Felten & colleagues, under the
   questionably-constitutional US "Digital Millennium Copyright Act"
   (DMCA). Cox sent USENIX the following open letter of resignation:

     I hereby tender my resignation to the USENIX ALS committee.

     With the arrest of Dimitry Sklyarov it has become apparent that it
     is not safe for non-US software engineers to visit the United
     States. While he was undoubtedly chosen for political reasons as a
     Russian it is a good example for the US public that the risk
     extends arbitarily further.

     USENIX by its choice of a US location is encouraging other
     programmers, many from Eastern European states hated by the US
     government, to take the same risks. That is something I cannot
     morally be part of. Who will be the next conference speaker slammed
     into a US jail for years for committing no crime? Are USENIX
     prepared to take the chance it will be their speakers?

     Until the DMCA mess is resolved I would urge all non-US citizens to
     boycott conferences in the USA and all US conference bodies to hold
     their conferences elsehere.

     I appreciate that this problem is not of USENIX making, but it must
     be addressed.

     Alan Cox

   Similar resignations of non-US members of US conference- and other
   event-planning bodies are increasing, with many more expected. It is
   thus crystal clear that the DMCA is having one of the most palpable
   "chilling effects" in American history on perfectly legal expression.
   EFF remains very concerned about such "secondary effects" of this
   legislation, and is committed to seeing it undone.

   [Sources: Linux World News & NewsForge

                                  - end -
     _________________________________________________________________


Electronic Publishers Coalition Condemns Criminal Use of DMCA

   In stark contrast to a trade association of offline publishers
   (American Assocation of Publishers or AAP), the online e-Book industry
   group Electronic Publishers Association (EPC) sharply attacks the
   prosecution of Dmitry Sklyarov:

    For Immediate Release

      Contact information:

     Connie Foster, eBooksonthe.net, publisher@ebooksonthe.net, +1
     207-667-6515
     Jon Noring, Blue Glass Publishing, noring@olagrande.net, +1
     801-253-4037
     Roger Sperberg, Watchung Plaza Books, roger@e-bks.com, +1
     973-744-7802
     URL: http://www.epccentral.org/dmca.html

   While all publishers are concerned about professional copyright
   thieves, the Electronic Publishers Coalition condemns the use of the
   criminal provisions of the DMCA against Dimitry Sklyarov, a Russian
   programmer and cryptanalyst visiting the United States.

   "Persecution of an individual shouldn't be any company's response to a
   commercial disagreement, especially regarding copyright," Connie
   Foster, the EPC executive director said Sunday.

   "All members of the EPC -- not just a small portion of them as with
   print-oriented groups like the AAP -- work with the Adobe and other
   electronic formats to publish their e-books, and we recognize that the
   same technology that benefits publishers with lower production and
   distribution costs also aids copyright violators."

   "We also recognize from our close experience working with electronic
   books, that readers need and deserve greater leeway with the e-books
   they purchase than the current limited DRM and security technology
   provides," Foster stated. (Note: DRM -- for "Digital Rights
   Management", a.k.a. copy prevention -- provides permissions control
   with e-books, disallowing [or permitting] such things as copying text
   to a computer's clipboard, printing of the content, and lending the
   e-book to another computer's reading system.)

   Foster continued, "In this case, readers' interests should be
   paramount, and the leading e-book formats -- Adobe's among them --
   slight them by making it impossible to open an e-book when upgrading
   to a new computer or when suffering a number of all-too-common
   computer woes, such as virus infection and hard-disk failure."

   "At this point in e-books' development, we think it's just too early
   for companies such as Adobe that have nascent content-delivery systems
   to think they have solved all their problems and to resort to criminal
   charges against a programmer who discovered and discussed serious
   flaws in the program's security structure."

   Foster went on to note: "Some people think Adobe has to pursue this
   type of action to reassure publishers their content is safe. But what
   publishers need to know is that Adobe understands the technology and
   its current limits, and the problems with its own software, and that
   it understands what our customers -- that is, readers-- need and what
   the immature e-book industry needs in order to grow."

   Sklyarov, a graduate student at Bauman Moscow State Technical
   University, reported at a Las Vegas conference on his research on
   e-book security performed for his dissertation. His research was later
   incorporated into a permissions-removal program called Advanced E-book
   Processor, or AEBPR, by ElcomSoft, a Russian software company that now
   employs him. The program apparently sold fewer than ten copies before
   being pulled from the market at Adobe's insistence. It had not been
   available commercially for more than two weeks before Sklyarov's visit
   to America.

   AEBPR allows users to make backups of legally purchased Adobe eBooks
   that ignore the eBooks' restrictions on copying, printing and lending,
   if any, and permit the eBook to be read on a replacement copy of Adobe
   eBook Reader if the initial installation no longer functions or if the
   user upgrades to a new computer. It does not work with eBooks sold to
   another user. Since under Russian law, such backups are mandatory for
   data sellers, Adobe eBooks contravene the law and AEBPR is legal in
   Russia, as well as in Germany and Scandinavia, and other countries.
   Its use in the U.S. is not permitted under the DMCA, the Digital
   Millennium Copyright Act.

   The Electronic Publishers Coalition was founded by a group of
   publishers committed to furthering the growth of the e-book community.
   It is the largest trade association of electronic publishers in the
   world. A primary role of the EPC is to follow through on its
   commitment to develop a healthy marketplace for digital content as
   well as to take a leadership role in setting minimum standards in
   order to encourage quality within our industry. The EPC is located on
   the web at:
     http://www.epccentral.org/
                 __________________________________________

   By way of contrast: Association of American Publishers (AAP) statement
   condoning the vindictive arrest and prosecution of an innocent
   cryptographic researcher:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/20010719_aap_sklyarov_pr.html

                                  - end -
     _________________________________________________________________


Linux Community Joint Statement Against DMCA:

  Digital Millennium Copyright Act Threatens Researchers

    Free Speech, Free Sklyarov

      A Community Declaration:

   Dmitry Sklyarov, a Russian academic, has been imprisoned after
   presenting a scientific paper at the DEF CON computer security
   conference. His talk covered the restriction mechanisms used to
   prevent people from reading electronic books. He was formally charged
   with distributing software that could be used to circumvent copy
   protection.
   [See press coverage]

   The Digital Millennium Copyright Act attacks freedom of speech and
   assembly and damages the economic health of the United States.

   Sklyarov was arrested by the FBI outside his hotel as he prepared to
   go to the airport. The arrest was instigated by Adobe Systems
   Corporation.

   It is ironic that a Russian national is being held without bail in the
   US for what is essentially a thoughtcrime. Through the passage of the
   DMCA we have criminalized speech and scientific research about the
   structure of computer programs as well as other simple acts such as
   reading of books and other media.

   The DMCA goes far beyond the need to protect from illegal copies of
   books and other media. Since it criminalizes not only the act of
   copying but even development and possession of programs which are
   capable of reading these media for legitimate use. For example, the
   DMCA criminalizes used book stores, in that the DMCA helps publishers
   lock up books so tight that the electronic analog of a used book store
   would be impossible.

   This is not the first time that DMCA has been used as a weapon against
   legitimate scientific research. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has
   brought suit on behalf of USENIX and Princeton Professor Edward Felten
   after the Professor and his research team were threatened with DMCA
   prosecution by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).
   This threat was delivered after it became known that Professor Felten
   was presenting a paper showing the insecurity of a method of
   protecting music, just as Sklyarov was arrested after presenting a
   similar paper about electronic books.

   The DMCA, in spite of its supposed exception, punishes reverse
   engineering. Bans on reverse engineering in the 70s would have made
   the PC revolution (and companies like Compaq, Phoenix and Dell)
   illegal.

   The extremism of the DMCA provisions prohibiting research, development
   and publication of tools for distributing and displaying copyrighted
   works must be eliminated. These provisions drop an Iron Curtain on the
   United States of America. It should never be illegal to make or
   discuss such tools.

   Noted Signatories (see Other Signatories page:
    http://www.dibona.com/dmca/signers/index.shtml
   for more):

     Larry Augustin - CEO and Chairman, VA Linux Systems
     Jeff Bates - Executive Editor, Slashdot.org
     Brian Behlendorf - President, Apache Software Foundation, CTO
     Collab.net
     Chris DiBona - Grant Chair, Linux International
     Miguel Di Icaza - Co-Founder and CTO, Ximian Inc.
     Nat Friedman - Co-Founder and VP Product Development, Ximian Inc.
     Marty Garbus - Attorney, Frankfurt, Garbus, Kurnit, Klein & Selz,
     PC
     Jon "Maddog" Hall - Executive Director, Linux International
     Ed Hernstadt - Attorney, Frankfurt, Garbus, Kurnit, Klein & Selz,
     PC
     Rob Malda - Founder and Editor, Slashdot.org
     Don Marti - Technical Editor, Linux Journal
     Bruce Perens - Primary Author, "The Open Source Definition"
     Eric S. Raymond - President, Open Source Initiative
     Lawrence Rosen - Attorney, Rosenlaw.com and Executive Director,
     Open Source Initiative
     David Sifry - Co-Founder, LinuxCare, Inc.
     Shari Steele - Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
     Brad Templeton - Chairman of the BoardElectronic Frontier
     Foundation
     Linus Torvalds - Lead Kernel Developer, Linux
     Art F. Tyde - CEO, Linuxcare
     Bob Young - Co-Founder and Chairman, Red Hat, Inc.

   Care to join them?

   Sign your name to this declaration as well:
     http://www.dibona.com/dmca/signup/index.shtml

   Press Contacts:

   Don Marti       dmarti@zgp.org
   Eric S. Raymond esr@thyrsus.com
   Bruce Perens    bruce@perens.com
   Chris DiBona    chris@dibona.com

   Please note that all of the Press Contacts will be available for
   discussion at the O'Reilly Open Source Conference the week of the 22nd
   of July.

   Resources:

   The EFF page on Sklyarov: http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/
   The EFF page on Edward Felten: http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/
   Felten_v_RIAA/
   The Free-Sklyarov Mailing list: http://zork.net/mailman/listinfo/
   free-sklyarov

                                  - end -
     _________________________________________________________________


EFF's Music Share-In in Golden Gate Park

  Supporting our Open Audio License

     EFF Unplugged: Music Share-In
     Saturday, September 8, 2001
     Stanyan Meadow, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Corner of Haight
     and Stanyon)
     2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

   The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) would like to invite you to
   participate in an open air concert event for everyone who loves music.
   EFF Unplugged will feature musicians from around the Bay Area
   performing acoustically in Golden Gate Park. Artists participating in
   this event will permit recording of their performances by those in
   attendance in support of EFF's Open Audio License (OAL).

   The OAL was developed to help artists share their work with others
   without giving up the recognition they deserve for creating the art.
   Based on the open source and free software initiatives for software
   development, the open audio license encourages artists to share with
   one another and their fans and to build upon the works of others.

   Adoption of the OAL does not mean that an artist does not get
   compensated for his or her work. On the contrary--the OAL permits
   artists to share single tracks or performances, with recognition, that
   could lead to sales of additional music. EFF is extremely sensitive to
   supporting new models of music distribution in the digital world that
   see more money going to the artists themselves. One of the great
   qualities of the Internet is that packaging and distributing music,
   which is where most of the money is currently spent by record
   companies, is trivial. EFF is committed to developing tools that
   empower artists to take control over their own art and to be
   compensated appropriately for their works.

   EFF believes that many of the laws and technologies being developed
   today to protect intellectual property actually harm the public's
   First Amendment and fair use rights and make criminals of people doing
   perfectly legitimate things. We are striving to help artists realize
   the full potential of the Internet for reaching their fans by
   challenging restrictive laws in courtrooms and through public
   education events, like this one.

   In addition to several stages of acoustical music, the Share-In will
   showcase numerous artist booths, where musicians can sell their music
   and merchandise to the public. In addition, there will be booths
   hosted by EFF and outside sponsors, including artists' rights
   organizations and independent labels.

   EFF is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect
   rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages
   and challenges everyone to support free expression, privacy, and
   openness in the information society. EFF is a member-supported
   organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the
   world at:
     http://www.eff.org/

   Information about EFF's Open Audio License is available at:
     http://www.eff.org/IP/Open_licenses/

   For more information about participating in EFF's Music Share-In,
   contact:
   Katina Bishop, EFF Director of Education and Offline Activism,
   +1 415-436-9333 x101,
   katina@eff.org
     _________________________________________________________________

Join EFF in Fundraising Dinner with Ed Felten

  Washington, D.C., Aug. 15.

   Join the Electronic Frontier Foundation in celebration of the
   presentation of Professor Ed Felten's Reading Between the Lines:
   Lessons from the SDMI Challenge at the USENIX Security Symposium on
   August 15th, 2001! Come and meet Professor Felten, his research team,
   and legal team, and support EFF's legal battle to get this paper
   presented. We will be dining at the prestigious Red Sage restaurant
   after the panel discussion on SDMI/DMCA, which runs from 6:30 - 7:00
   on the evening of August 15th.

   The Red Sage is just around the block from the J.W. Marriott Hotel. We
   will be gathering in the Continental room at 7:30, and dinner will
   begin at 8:00.

   Come support the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in defending our
   rights to think, speak, and share our ideas, thoughts, and needs using
   new technologies!

   Based in San Francisco, EFF is a donor-supported membership
   organization working to protect our fundamental rights regardless of
   technology; to educate the press, policymakers and the general public
   about civil liberties issues related to technology; and to act as a
   defender of those liberties. Among our various activities, EFF opposes
   misguided legislation, initiates and defends court cases preserving
   individuals' rights, launches global public campaigns, introduces
   leading edge proposals and papers, hosts frequent educational events,
   engages the press regularly, and publishes a comprehensive archive of
   digital civil liberties information at one of the most linked-to
   websites in the world: http://www.eff.org.

   There are only 50 spots, so sign up early! Contact Katie by email at
   katie@eff.org or by phone at +1 415-436-9333 x104 to reserve a spot.
   The price of admission to the celebration with the Electronic Frontier
   Foundation, Ed Felten, his research team, and the legal team is $250,
   which includes dinner and wine at the legendary Red Sage restaurant.
     _________________________________________________________________


Administrivia

   EFFector is published by:

   The Electronic Frontier Foundation
   454 Shotwell Street
   San Francisco CA 94110-1914 USA
   +1 415 436 9333 (voice)
   +1 415 436 9993 (fax)
   http://www.eff.org/

   Editors:
   Katina Bishop, EFF Education & Offline Activism Director
   Stanton McCandlish, EFF Technical Director/Webmaster
   editors@eff.org

   To Join EFF online, or make an additional donation, go to:
   http://www.eff.org/support/

   Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org
   General EFF, legal, policy or online resources queries: ask@eff.org

   Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged.
   Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of EFF. To
   reproduce signed articles individually, please contact the authors for
   their express permission. Press releases and EFF announcements &
   articles may be reproduced individually at will.

   To subscribe to EFFector via e-mail, send to majordomo@eff.org a
   message BODY (not subject) of:
    subscribe effector
   The list server will send you a confirmation code and then add you to
   a subscription list for EFFector (after you return the confirmation
   code; instructions will be in the confirmation e-mail).

   To unsubscribe, send a similar message body to the same address, like
   so:
    unsubscribe effector

   (Please ask listmaster@eff.org to manually remove you from the list if
   this does not work for you for some reason.)

   To change your address, send both commands at once, one per line
   (i.e., unsubscribe your old address, and subscribe your new address).

   Back issues are available at:
    http://www.eff.org/effector

   To get the latest issue, send any message to
   effector-reflector@eff.org (or er@eff.org), and it will be mailed to
   you automagically. You can also get, via the Web:
    http://www.eff.org/pub/EFF/Newsletters/EFFector/current.html
     _________________________________________________________________

Back to top

JavaScript license information