Stanford Center for Internet and Society

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Professor Lessig's take on Microsoft's Tom Rubin's speech to the Association of American Publishers Annual Meeting.

Tom is a CIS non-residential Fellow.

According to National Journal's Technology Daily:

The House Oversight and Government Reform Information Policy Subcommittee on Tuesday approved legislation that aims to speed the government's response to Freedom of Information Act requests. CongressDaily reports that the legislation would uphold an existing requirement that government agencies respond to information requests within 20 days but would apply pressure to that deadline by imposing consequences on federal agencies for missing it. The bill also would mandate that agencies provide information requesters with a tracking number to follow the progress of their request either by phone or on the Internet. "Requesters are being forced to wait much longer than necessary for responses from agency FOIA offices," said bill co-sponsor and Missouri Democrat William Lacy Clay.

One of the big problems the journalist in Poulsen v. USCBP had was that the agency never gave him a tracking number and then claimed they lost his FOIA request. Hopefully this could solve that problem.

STANFORD, Calif., February 27, 2007—The Fair Use Project of the Center for Internet & Society at Stanford Law School announced that it has teamed with Media/Professional Insurance and leading intellectual property attorney Michael Donaldson to provide critical support for documentary filmmakers who rely on the “fair use” of copyrighted material in their films. The initiative was announced at the International Documentary Association’s 25th Annual Celebration of Academy Award Documentary Nominees in Beverly Hills February 22, 2007.

“Documentary filmmakers who use copyrighted materials in their work under the ‘fair use’ doctrine of copyright law have come under tremendous pressure in the face of demands for huge licensing fees from copyright holders and overly-aggressive enforcement of copyrights,” explained Lawrence Lessig, founder and director of the Center for Internet and Society and the C. Wendell and Edith M. Carlsmith Professor of Law at Stanford Law School.

Packets is production of the Stanford Center for Internet & Society (CIS). It is written by members of the Stanford Law and Technology Association (SLATA), and edited by CIS staff, fellows and volunteer attorneys.

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This is a nice piece that describes the difference between the Google Book Project and the Internet Archive/Open Content Alliance Project to make book texts search-able.

Bottom line: Libraries are agreeing that the books Google scans in will only be available through Google's search index. The Internet Archive Project will make books it scans available through any search engine.

here.

Though the Court acknowledged that there had been a change from an opt-in to an opt-out system of copyright, the court held that because Eldred had resolved a “similar” claim, it would not “ignore the clear holding of Eldred” (about, apparently, not the same claim, but a “similar” claim.)

Beyond a Physical Conception of the Fourth Amendment:
Search and Seizure in the Digital Age

Stanford Law School
January 26th, 2007
http://stlr.stanford.edu/symposium.html

* Can the government search your computer without a warrant?
* Can they obtain your personal information from your Internet service provider?
* Is it constitutional for the cops to track your movements?

Hear what the experts have to say, and let them know your opinions, through our symposium: Beyond a Physical Conception of the Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure in the Digital Age. Top technology and privacy experts from across the country will argue about the Internet, criminal procedure, RFID, and the Constitution.

Best of all, you can participate! Five authors' drafts will appear on the symposium website for commenting before (and after) the live event. Read, respond, and be heard in the live discussion!

Where: Stanford Law School
When: Friday, January 26th, 8:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Admission: free, and open to everyone!
Website: http://stlr.stanford.edu/symposium.html
Sponsors: the Stanford Technology Law Review, Center for Internet and Society, and Criminal Justice Center

Registration: let us know your name and whether you're coming at techsymposium@gmail.com!

You may be interested in this conference. I am on the Board of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) and will be at the event.

_______

CPSR (Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility) is sponsoring a barcamp-style "unconference" on Technology and Politics on Sunday, December 17 in San Francisco.

The goal is to create stronger coalitions devoted to democratic technology, freedom, social justice, and sustainability.

Sign up on the event wiki.

Wired News reports that MPAA killed a comprehensive CA pretexting bill because they didn't want it to hamper their private investigators who use pretexting to weed out video piracy.

This is just amazing. The MPAA's ability to catch pirates is more important than your right to privacy in your personally identifiable information.

Now when you read another story like the HP pretexting scandal, you'll know who to blame.