EFFector Vol. 20, No. 45  November 13, 2007  [email protected]

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424

In the 449th Issue of EFFector:

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

Make a donation and become an EFF member today!
 http://eff.org/support/

Tell a friend about EFF:
 http://action.eff.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1061

effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired
change.

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* Campus Copyright Mandates Threaten Financial Aid Funds
and Campus Networks

The U.S. House of Representatives' latest higher education
bill includes nasty requirements for "Campus-Based Digital
Theft Prevention," mandating that schools plan to provide
legal downloading alternatives and that campuses consider
policing copyrights on their networks. Campuses that fail
to comply stand to lose massive amounts of federal
financial aid funds that go to straight to students. The
bill, H.R. 4137, will be marked up by the House Committee
on Education and Labor early Wednesday, November 13.

The first requirement -- that schools offer legal
downloading alternatives -- could wind up requiring
students to pay for services whether they use them or not.
The second requirement -- that schools must explore
technology-based deterrents to infringement -- basically
translates into network filtering or network surveillance,
which opens the door for infringement on students' fair use
and privacy rights. Finally, the potential penalties are
extremely disproportionate. Campuses that "fail to prevent
illegal file sharing" are subject to lose all federal
financial aid funding -- money that helps countless
students get through school.

Several organizations, including EFF, are running
grassroots campaigns to stop this mandate from being
included in the final bill.

For EFF's action alert opposing this threat to students:
http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=331

For News.com's reporting on these campus copyright
requirements:
http://www.news.com/Democrats-Colleges-must-police-copyright%2C-or-else/2100-1028_3-6217943.html

For this complete post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/11/campus-copyright-mandates-threaten-financial-aid-funds-and-campus-networks

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* Mr Klein Goes to Washington: Press Roundup

Last week, AT&T; whistleblower Mark Klein went to
Washington, D.C., to ask lawmakers to reject immunity for
telecoms that assisted with the Bush administration's
warrantless spying program. Mr. Klein's story received a
lot of attention, as his first-hand experiences at AT&T;
deliver a concrete picture of dragnet spying in contrast to
empty, pro-immunity rhetoric being delivered by
high-powered telecom lobbyists, Bush administration
officials, and the administration's allies in Congress and
elsewhere.

For Klein's interview with MSNBC's Keith Olbermann:
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand;=msnbc&vid;=297abdd5-d0dc-4617-a6c9-c482fa316b59

For Klein's interview with NPR's Robert Siegel on All
Things Considered:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16088947

For Klein's appearance on C-SPAN's Washington Journal:
http://video.c-span.org/15days/wj110807_klein.rm

For Klein's interview with blogger Spencer Ackerman:
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004662.php

For the Washington Post's coverage of Klein's visit to
D.C.:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/07/AR2007110700006.html

For this complete post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/11/mr-klein-goes-washington-press-roundup

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* EFF Supports Consumers' Right To Repair, Resell Patented
Goods

Urges Supreme Court to Crack Down on Post-Sale Restrictions

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to protect consumers'
traditional right to use, repair, and resell the products
they own, even if those products are patented. At stake is
the enforceability of "single use" and "not for resale"
labels on patented products.

The amicus brief -- submitted on behalf of EFF, Consumers
Union, and Public Knowledge -- was filed in Quanta v. LG
Electronics, currently pending before the Supreme Court.
The case will test the vitality of the "patent exhaustion"
doctrine, which entitles a consumer to use, repair, or
resell patented products that they have purchased.

The issue is of increasing importance to consumers, who
often face "single use only" and "not for resale" labels on
patented products, interfering with legitimate aftermarkets
for parts and service. Lexmark, for example, has used
"single use only" labels to limit the market for refilled
toner cartridges. Similarly, "not for resale" labels could
interfere with used and refurbished product sales on eBay
and Craigslist. EFF's brief urges the Supreme Court to
prohibit patent owners from using patent infringement suits
to enforce these kinds of post-sale use restrictions on the
products they sell.

"Patent owners are trying to use 'label licenses' to
deprive consumers of their right to use, repair and resell
the products they own," said EFF Senior Intellectual
Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "It's time for the
Supreme Court to step in and put a stop to it."

The case is No. 06-937. The Solicitor General,
Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Gateway all urged the Supreme
Court to review the case, and oral argument is expected in
early 2008.

For the full amicus brief:
http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/quanta_v_lg/quanta_amicus.pdf

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2007/11/13

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* EFF Partners in Launch of Collaborative Government
Document Database at Governmentdocs.org

EFF has partnered with a coalition of government watchdog
groups in launching governmentdocs.org, a site that
consolidates government documents produced by Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) requests from various organizations.
The FOIA is a law that forces the federal government to
disclose documents detailing its activities when asked.

Often, organizations making FOIA requests seek to hold the
government accountable for abuse, corruption, and
unfulfilled promises to citizens. Governmentdocs.org allows
visitors to search a database of government documents
uncovered by watchdog groups, facilitating broad citizen
review of critical records of government activity. In
addition, registered users of the site can comment on
documents, bringing their own insight and expertise to the
table.

EFF has a tradition of posting searchable PDFs of
government documents for anyone to review, and we remain
committed to broadening open government efforts by sharing
our findings with other organizations through
governmentdocs.org. Documents obtained by EFF through our
FOIA requests will continue to be posted at the EFF
website, in addition to the new collaborative site.

For this post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/11/eff-partners-launch-collaborative-government-document-database-governmentdocs-org

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* You're Invited! BayFF with Jonathan Zittrain: "The Future
of the Internet -- And How To Stop It"

WHEN:
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 7:30 p.m.

WHAT:
Jonathan Zittrain speaks on "The Future of the Internet --
And How To Stop It: The Internet is primed for a meltdown -
and the most obvious cures are just as bad."

WHO:
Jonathan Zittrain is one of the world's foremost scholars
of technology law and technology policy. He holds the Chair
in Internet Governance and Regulation at Oxford University
and is a principal of the Oxford Internet Institute. His
research interests include battles for control of digital
property and content, cryptography, electronic privacy, the
roles of intermediaries within Internet architecture, and
the useful and unobtrusive deployment of technology in
education. He co-founded the Berkman Center for Internet &
Society at Harvard Law School, as well as the OpenNet
Initiative, which tracks Internet filtering worldwide. 

WHERE:

CNET Networks Inc.
235 2nd Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

RSVP to: [email protected]

This event is free and open to the general public.

CNET Networks is accessible via BART. Get off at the
Montgomery station and use the exit marked 2nd and Market.
Walk south on 2nd Street until you reach the CNET building.

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* Nominate a Pioneer for EFF's 2008 Pioneer Awards!

EFF established the Pioneer Awards to recognize leaders on
the electronic frontier who are extending freedom and
innovation in the realm of information technology. This is
your opportunity to nominate a deserving individual or
group to receive a Pioneer Award for 2008.

The International Pioneer Awards nominations are open both
to individuals and organizations from any country.
Nominations are reviewed by a panel of judges chosen for
their knowledge of the technical, legal, and social issues
associated with information technology.

How to Nominate Someone for a 2008 Pioneer Award:

You may send as many nominations as you wish, but please
use one email per nomination. Please submit your entries
via email to [email protected]. We will accept nominations
until January 1, 2008.

Simply tell us:

1. The name of the nominee,

2. The phone number or email address or website by which
the nominee can be reached, and, most importantly,

3. Why you feel the nominee deserves the award.

Nominee Criteria:

There are no specific categories for the EFF Pioneer
Awards, but the following guidelines apply:

1. The nominees must have contributed substantially to the
health, growth, accessibility, or freedom of computer-based
communications.

2. To be valid, all nominations must contain your reason,
however brief, for nominating the individual or
organization and a means of contacting the nominee. In
addition, while anonymous nominations will be accepted,
ideally we'd like to contact the nominating parties in case
we need further information.

3. The contribution may be technical, social, economic, or
cultural.

4. Nominations may be of individuals, systems, or
organizations in the private or public sectors.

5. Nominations are open to all (other than current members
of EFF's staff and operating board or this year's award
judges), and you may nominate more than one recipient. You
may also nominate yourself or your organization.

6. Persons or representatives of organizations receiving an
EFF Pioneer Award will be invited to attend the ceremony at
EFF's expense.

More on the EFF Pioneer Awards:
http://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer/

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* miniLinks
The week's noteworthy news, compressed.

~ Intelligence Official: Get Used to Having Less Privacy
Donald Kerr says anonymity is "quickly becoming a thing of
the past."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/11/AR2007111100289.html

~ Ashcroft Avoids Caller ID
When the former AG demanded immunity for telecoms, he
forgot to mention that they are clients of his.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/67943

~ How Do You Fix Intrusive Surveillance Cameras?
Can camera networks be designed to protect privacy?
http://www.newswireless.net/index.cfm/article/3653

~ Hushmail Can Still Be Snoopmail
A criminal investigation obtained access to a user of the
crypto-friendly service.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071108-secure-hushmail-can-still-talk-to-the-feds.html

~ Six Steps to Digital Copyright Sanity
Gigi Sohn's speech on fixing copyright to match modern
technology.
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1244

~ Blogger Threatened Over Avis Logo
Car rental company tries harder to override fair use
online.
http://www.out-law.com//default.aspx?page=8624

~ EMI Sues Founder of MP3Tunes
The music industry giant EMI is suing Michael Robertson for
copyright infringement.
http://www.news.com/2100-1030_3-6217961.html

~ E-Voting Machines Get It Exactly Wrong
Voting machines swapped the votes for two candidates in
Lawrence County, Ohio.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/11/votes-flipped-i.html

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* Administrivia

EFFector is published by:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation
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San Francisco CA 94110-1914 USA
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 http://www.eff.org/	

Editor:
Richard Esguerra, EFF Activist
 [email protected]	

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