To: nylug-talk@nylug.org, nylug-announce@nylug.org Subject: [nylug-talk] NYLUG.org, DCLUG and NOVALUG to Protest the DMCA - 5/2/2000, Wash. DC From: Jim Gleason <jgleason@electriclichen.com> Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 18:22:56 -0400 (EDT) cc: Don Marti <dmarti@zgp.org>, esr@thyrsus.com, steve@copyleft.net, gjp@valinux.com, William_Abernathy@mcgraw-hill.com, william@inch.com, niemi@tux.org, przemek@tux.org, timothy@slashdot.org, Ari Jort <arijort@valinux.com>, jays@panix.com, bazza@bazza.org, dave@linuxtoday.com, linux-announce@sws1.ctd.ornl.gov, casandra@ix.netcom.com, Jim Gleason <jim@valinux.com>, casandra@juno.com, mjr@iki.fi Reply-To: Jim Gleason <jgleason@electriclichen.com> Sender: owner-nylug-talk@electriclichen.com NYLUG.org, DCLUG and NOVALUG to Protest the Digital Millennium Copyright Act on May 2nd in Washington DC NEW YORK, N.Y., April 23, 2000 -- The New York Linux Users Group (nylug.org), The Washington DC Linux Users Group (dclug.tux.org) and The Northern Virginia Linux Users Group (novalug.tux.org) are teaming up to hold a joint demonstration to protest The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) during public hearings in Washington DC on May 2nd. In its current version, The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 grants copyright holders sweeping legal authority over technological measures that control access to copyrighted works, such as weak encryption. This new legislation also enables Hollywood movie studios, including Universal Studios, MGM, Turner Networks, and Time Warner; to extend their copyright protection of content into the consumer electronics industry, and allows them to control the commercial manufacture and retail sale of DVD players. Consequently, no Linux computers are manufactured anywhere in the world that can lawfully play a DVD movie. When Jon Johansen, a 16 year old Norwegian, wrote software code to play a purchased DVD on his Linux computer, police units and other government authorities staged a surprise raid on his home, confiscated his computer and telephone equipment, and arrested both he and his father. According to Johansen, they were subjected to questioning for approximately 6-7 hours, apparently without a lawyer. It is reported that the charges carry fines and prison terms of up to two years. Eric Raymond, co-demonstrator and prominent leader in the open source software movement (www.opensource.org) remarked, "Any US law that abolishes consumers' fair use rights and leads to 16-year-old kids getting hassled by foreign police is just wrong. This has got to end." When a DVD movie is lawfully purchased, it is implied that the purchaser is authorized to access the file contained within the physical media in order to view it on whatever platform that person uses. The DMCA needs to be changed so that copyright holders do not have the right to control a consumer's lawful experience with a DVD. Information on how to join the protest can be found at http://nylug.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Gleason President, New York Linux Users Group jim@valinux.com http://www.nylug.org Telephone Contact: (212) 858-7684 Fax Press Contact: (212) 858-7685 For more information, please see: * NYLUG.org (New York City, NY) http://nylug.org * DCLUG Home Page (Bethesda, MD) http://dclug.tux.org * NovaLUG Home Page (Chantilly, VA) http://novalug.tux.org
To: nylug-talk@nylug.org Subject: [nylug-talk] All demonstrators will receive DeCSS t-shirts From: Jim Gleason <jgleason@electriclichen.com> Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 12:20:05 -0400 (EDT) Sender: owner-nylug-talk@electriclichen.com Just letting you all know that we will have about 100 DeCSS t-shirts at the rally tomorrow. Likewise, every protester gets their own NYLUG.org t-shirt. It's supposed to be warm - 70 degress, but it's also supposed to rain. So be ready! - Jim ---------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Gleason VA Linux Systems email: jim@valinux.com http://www.valinux.com phone: 212-858-7684 Pres. New York Linux Users Group fax: 212-858-7685 http://www.nylug.org ----------------------------------------------------------------