No. 6.5
<--The Filter--> 3.15.04
Your regular
dose of public-interest Internet news and commentary
from the
H a r v a r d
L a w S c h o
o l
CONTENTS:
HIGHLIGHTS:
[1] In
the News: The Long Arm of the Law
[2] Case
in Point: All Nations Represent
[3] Berkman
News: Come Together
[4] Conference
Watch
[5] Bookmarks:
Clarifications
[6]
Quotables: Whatchamacallit
[7] Talk
Back
[8] Subscription
Info
[9] About
us
[10] Not
a Copyright
-----------------------------------------
[1] IN
THE NEWS
================
*
CANned by SPAM
The first
major industry lawsuits under the CAN-SPAM act have been filed.
AOL, Microsoft, Earthlink, and Yahoo! are suing hundreds of individuals for
sending unsolicited email to their customers.
Text of
complaints:
<http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/documents/index.html#spam>
News links:
<http://tinyurl.com/2x4mm>
[boston.com]
<http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-5172038.html>
* Domain
Name Registrars Go Litigious
Approval
of VeriSign's Wait Listing Service (domain name pre-registration)
spurred eight registrars to sue ICANN.
But if the court decides that ICANN is committing anti-trust violations,
will Internet governance by an independent body be a thing of the past?
<http://www.netimperative.com/cmn/viewdoc.jsp?cat=news&docid=BEP1_News_0000063146>
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40112-2004Mar8.html>
<http://news.com.com/2100-1038-5171809.html>
*
Cybernews From Around the Globe
AOL Tests
Wireless: <http://news.com.com/2100-1039-5172183.html?tag=nefd_hed>
EU--
Tighter
Piracy Restrictions: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3545839.stm>
Anti-Spam
Action: <http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040309/323/eo2jy.html>
Cybercrime
Act Drafted: <http://allafrica.com/stories/200403110222.html>
Trying
to Get Around the Firewall: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3548035.stm>
No
Cybercafes Near Schools:
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8106359.htm>
Email Blocked
by Comcast Error: <http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-5168643.html>
* Theories
of Blogging - the Post-Dean Analysis
Political
scientists and bloggers are scrambling to make sense
of the purpose and power of blogs in American politics
since the abrupt rise and fall of the Dean campaign.
Some have argued that blogs function as "echo
chambers" - a forum for likeminded people to talk to each other without engaging
in the community at large. Other studies
which analyze blogs by comparing them to traditional
media have found that blogs can serve as a powerful
tool for educating, spreading information, and raising campaign dollars.
On the
Echo Chamber Theory:
<http://tinyurl.com/2zcg2>
[latimes.com]
<http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/02/20/echo_chamber/>
On comparisons
of blogs with other media:
<http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/Research_Publications/Case_Studies/1731_0.pdf>
On
blog fund raising:
<http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,62325,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1>
More on
politics and blogging:
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/>
<http://www.ipdi.org/publications/>
<http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=113>
* November
Looms Large for EVoting
In November's
American presidential election, nearly half of voters will use touch screens as
opposed to paper or mechanical ballots.
Security and technical issues, however, are raising concerns as primaries
test the electronic systems.
<http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,62505,00.html>
<http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5168670.html>
<http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/010090.shtml#010090>
[2] CASE IN POINT
=================
The Case
in Point is Caldera (SCO) v. IBM, also called the case against open-source.
See
Groklaw's collection of case materials at <http://www.groklaw.net/>.
Lest you
think this case has nothing to do with you, note that SCO has now begun suing Linux
users directly. Last week, SCO announced
that it had filed complaints against auto parts retailer AutoZone and automaker
DaimlerChrysler. CEO McBride is mimicking
the Recording Industry Association of America's lawsuits against music file swappers,
claiming, "It wasn't until the RIAA launched a series of lawsuits against end-users
that the end users became fully educated."
Shankland,
CNet News, "SCO suits target two big Linux users" at
<http://news.com.com/2100-1014-5168921.html?tag=nl>
This month's
discussion question is pitched to our non-US readers. Does your country recognize
any "fair use" rights of end-users to make copies of software for the purpose of
running applications?
Will Linux
users in your jurisdiction be influenced by SCO's litigation
strategy in other nations?
How easy
will it be for SCO to bring such an action in your country?
If you
want to join in, and we hope that you will, please go to
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/suelinux/>
where we are trying a new blog-style discussion application.
Case in
Point is an ongoing series of discussions targeting particular legal issues raised
as an actual case proceeds. For current summaries of the case and an archive of
documents, see
Groklaw,
Legal Docs, SCO v. IBM, at <http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=legal-docs>
and
TwikiWeThey, SCO v. IBM, at <http://sco.iwethey.org/>.
[3] BERKMAN NEWS
================
* Tell
Me What You Want
A Filter
Flash went out in early March offering all Filter readers a chance to speak your
minds about what you like about and how you would improve the publication.
Many thanks to
those who have submitted their comments.
If you missed out, here's your chance to complete the five-minute survey:
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/survey/index.pl?survey=filter&action=view_survey&page=0>
* Filtering
Project Expands with OpenNet Initiative Launch
The
OpenNet Initiative, a project documenting filtering
and surveillance practices worldwide in order "to excavate, expose and analyze,"
has recently launched. The
<http://www.opennetinitiative.org/>
*
Weblog Community to Convene at Berkman in April
A second
BloggerCon will take place April 17th at
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/bloggercon>
To register:
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/bloggerCon/II/register>
[4] CONFERENCE WATCH
====================
March:
*
<http://www.internationalunity.org/>
*
<http://islandia.law.yale.edu/isp/digital_cops.htm>
April:
*
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/Speedbumps/Speed-bumps_conference.html>
*
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/bloggercon>
May:
*
<http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit04/>
*
<http://www.isoc.org/inet04/>
*
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/ilaw/>
*
<http://www.crime-research.org/conferenc.html>
June:
*
<http://privacyfutures.org/>
July:
*
<http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/teaching/?rq=sdp2004>
[5] BOOKMARKS
==============
* The Grey
Album Rocks the Music Industry
<http://www.greytuesday.org/>
* Which
Rule of Civil Procedure Are You? (via Bag & Baggage)
<http://tinyurl.com/2v4ol>
[quizilla.com]
* Confusing
DMCA "Database" Decision Not About Databases, by Ernest Miller
<http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/002183.html>
* How I
Lost the Big One, by Professor Lawrence Lessig
<http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/March-April-2004/story_lessig_marapr04.html>
* EFF Joins
Suit Against Broadcast Flag (via Copyfight.org)
<http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/20040309_eff_pr.php>
[6] QUOTABLES
==============
"The author
of this blawg secretly cringes each time he uses the
words 'weblog,' 'blog,'
or 'blawg,'
but
he thinks these words have entered the language. He thinks anyone who is upset about
his use of
these
words should just get over it." -- Evan Schaeffer, this and much more at
<http://www.legalunderground.com/2004/03/a_public_servic.html>
"Blogging,
in my view, is a word that is a closer analogue to 'cold, dead fish' than to 'sushi.'"
--
Berkman
Fellow James Moore
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/jim/2004/02/26#a523>
[7] TALK
BACK
================
We continue
to adjust the Filter's format and content in
response
to your feedback.
Further
comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Please
send them to filter-editor@cyber.law.harvard.edu
[8] SUBSCRIPTION
INFO
======================
Follow
this link to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the list:
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filter/subscribe>
[9] ABOUT
US
=============
Read
The Filter online at <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filter/>.
Who we
are:
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filter/about.html>
[10] NOT
A COPYRIGHT
=====================
A publication
of the
do--forward
or copy this newsletter to friends and colleagues.
This work
is hereby released into the Public Domain. To view a copy of the
public
domain dedication, visit
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/>
or
send a letter to