dmca

Who knew -- Apple still makes computers, and today launched a bunch of new ones, plus a ginormous desktop trackpad to go with them. Also: The robot that will make you breakfast. Eventually. Guest: Darren Kitchen of Hak5.org!

To help answer some questions about this week's announcement by the Copyright Office, a unit of the Library of Congress, regarding the legality of so-called cell phone jailbreaking--that is, modifying the software that comes with iPhones and other handsets and that is designed not to be changed--we've compiled the following questions and answers.

What does the Copyright Office's ruling mean? The short answer is that jailbreaking your iPhone or other mobile device will no longer violate a controversial federal copyright law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. Bypassing a manufacturer's protection mechanisms to … Read more

The U.S. copyright office now says that there are instances in which you may hack, fold, spindle, or mutilate copy protection, but just a few, and don't go breaking any other contracts while you're at it. Also, Microsoft wants its employees to build Windows 7 phone apps... for free!

President Obama broke the Internet's collective heart last week, cheering on strict intellectual-property laws, dampening our hopes for meaningful copyright reforms and, worse, announcing that "we must" move forward on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

Now, ACTA covers a lot of ground that the president is concerned about, such as physical copying of goods--the actual counterfeiting in the Counterfeiting name. But as you may know by now, it also contains some seriously disturbing, broad-stroke IP law that could have a devastating effect on the way the Internet works--on research, content creation and innovation, search and seizure, and much … Read more

Microsoft has withdrawn a copyright complaint against the Cryptome site over its publication of internal Microsoft guidelines for how the software giant can provide user data to law enforcement.

Cryptome, a watchdog site that publishes sensitive corporate and government documents, was taken offline after Microsoft complained Wednesday about its publishing the document "Microsoft Global Criminal Compliance Handbook," also referred to as Microsoft's Surveillance Guide, citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Microsoft on Thursday morning notified Network Solutions that it was withdrawing its complaint and the domain registrar put the Cryptome site back online, said Network Solutions spokeswoman … Read more

The Web site Cryptome, which publishes sensitive corporate and government files, was taken down briefly by its provider after Microsoft complained of copyright infringement over the publication of one of its documents.

Cryptome often posts documents detailing the surveillance activities that companies and government agencies perform on behalf of law enforcement officials. These documents, which Cryptome refers to as "lawful spying guides," explain what information companies reveal about its customers when requested by legal authorities. Many of these documents are specifically written for law enforcement officials to guide them on obtaining customer information from a company--what to ask … Read more

Leaks from the secret negotiations of the ACTA treaty allege that ISPs worldwide would be required to lose safe-harbor protections, implement three-strike antipiracy policies, and worse. We think this is outrageous. AT&T thinks Verizon is outrageous because of its commercials and so is taking Verizon to court. Also, EMI finally got around to suing BlueBeat.com for selling Beatles tracks online. But you can buy a Beatles USB stick for $280. So, you've got that going for you.

AT&… Read more

The Electronic Frontier Foundation on Tuesday rebutted legal assertions by Texas Instruments that enthusiasts who figured how to install their own operating systems on TI calculators violated the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

In a letter sent to the processor and calculator maker, Jennifer Granick, civil-liberties director at the EFF, argued that TI calculator enthusiasts Brandon Wilson, Tom Cross, and Duncan Smith didn't deserve letters TI sent them August 27 demanding that they remove various online posts about installing alternative operating systems. The three had taken down the posts but plan to restore them October 26, unless TI supplies evidence of a violation, Granick said.

In the posts, the three discussed use of reverse-engineered digital keys that made it simple to install alternative operating systems on the TI calculators. Wilson and Smith posted the actual keys that could be used to perform the installation.

But none of that violated the DMCA's anticircumvention provision, which states, "No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work" protected under the copyright act, Granick said. … Read more

Flickr has adopted a less severe way of handling copyright infringement claims after a small firestorm of controversy erupted about a photograph of President Barack Obama modified to look like The Dark Knight's rendition of the Joker comic-book villain.

Previously, certain copyright infringement complaints were met with the removal of an image, and if the complaint was overruled, the Flickr member who posted the image was allowed to repost it. After the Joker Obama case, Flickr decided to merely replace the image in question with a message, a move that means the discussion below the image is preserved and … Read more