MESSAGE
| DATE | 2005-09-01 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] reverse engineering and the DMCA
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Federal Court Slams Door on Add-On Innovation
Shuts Down Open Source Videogame Server Project
St. Louis, MO - In a decision with dangerous implications for
competition, consumer choice, reverse engineering, and innovation, the
8th Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled against three software
programmers who created a free, open-source program to allow gamers to
play games they purchased with others on the platform of their choice.
The court held that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
prohibited the reverse engineering needed to create the program and that
"click-wrap" and "browse-wrap" licenses are enforceable to prevent
reverse engineering.
The software program, called BnetD, allowed legitimate Blizzard
videogame owners to set up their own multiplayer games on the Internet
and enjoy dozens of additional features instead of being locked into
Blizzard's proprietary Battle.net game service. The Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF), co-counsel for the programmers, took the case to
defend the fair-use right to reverse-engineer software and create new
programs that interoperate with older ones.
"This ruling is bad for gamers, but it could also be terrible for the
software industry," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "It
essentially shuts down any competitor's add-on innovation that customers
could enjoy with their legitimately purchased products. Add-on
innovation is one of the hottest areas of creativity and economic growth
right now in software, and this decision will slow investment and
development in that field."
The court ruled that Congress' explicit protections for reverse
engineering and add-on innovation in the highly controversial DMCA are
too narrow and weak to protect innovators from lawsuits when the
software they create is used for illegal copying, even if the copying
occurs without the knowledge or participation of the program's creators.
The court also ruled that clicking on a EULA's "I Agree" button, common
when installing almost any software product purchased today, can be used
to force both consumers and competitors out of the marketplace for
add-on innovation.
"Those who have been claiming that the DMCA does not threaten reverse
engineering are plainly wrong," added Schultz. "The DMCA has become a
powerful anticompetitive tool, and that means consumers will see fewer
innovative products in the marketplace."
Ruling in the case [PDF]
Case background
Contact:
Jason Schultz
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
jason-at-eff.org
Posted at 01:20 PM
Customers Get Less Than They Think at Online Music Stores
EFF's New Guide to Digital Music Services Reveals the Truth About DRM
San Francisco, CA - If you buy music from an online music store, you may
be getting much less than you thought. Today the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) released "The Customer Is Always Wrong: A User's Guide
to DRM in Online Music," which exposes how today's digital rights
management (DRM) systems compromise a consumer's right to lawfully
manage her music the way she wants.
The guide takes a close look at popular online music services with
built-in DRM created by Apple, Microsoft, RealNetworks, and Napster 2.0.
Although these companies claim their services allow consumers "freedom"
and the ability to play music "any way you want it," the reality often
does not live up to the marketing hype. When you download in these
formats from online music services, the services don't trumpet the fact
that your music contains hidden restrictions that complicate your life
and limit the universe of devices you can use to play your music. CDs
purchased 20 years ago not only continue to play in every CD and DVD
player, but can also be used with any of today's PCs and digital music
players. Thanks to DRM, however, a similar investment in music
downloaded today may be much less valuable to you 20 years from now.
And yet bypassing the DRM to make perfectly legal uses puts people at
risk of liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). "In
this brave new world of 'authorized digital music services,' law-abiding
music fans often get less for their money than they did in the old world
of CDs," said Derek Slater, the Harvard student and EFF intern who
authored the guide. "Understanding how DRM and the DMCA pose a danger to
your rights will help you to make fully informed purchasing decisions."
The Customer Is Always Wrong: A User's Guide to DRM in Online Music
Contact:
Fred von Lohmann
Senior Intellectual Property Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
fred-at-eff.org
Posted at 07:21 AM
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