Liudvikas Bukys

ICANN/Verisign .com Registry Agreement

Cover Pages: W3C Opens Public Discussion Forum on US Patent 5,838,906 and Eolas v. Microsoft:

• Eolas claims: ‘The patent covers Web browsers that support such currently popular technologies as ActiveX components, Java applets, and Navigator plug-ins. Eolas’ advanced browser technology makes possible rich interactive online experiences for over 500 million Web users, worldwide.’
• The article’s analysis: “People already of the opinion that US laws on software patents are hopelessly broken, that philosophical justification is fatally flawed, and that the patent review process is badly administered (patent application reviewers having no concept of what a “non-obvious” software solution might be) — will have no difficulty classifying this case as yet another in a long history of embarrassing episodes, giving the Europeans just cause for derisive laughter. People already of the opinion that software patents constitute a healthy mechanism for supporting innovation will applaud the entrepreneurial spirit of the University of California in (apparently) landing this big fish at the expense of a(nother) convicted monopolist. Open source software vendors are understandably worried about rulings such as this, as they have no adequate weapons with which to defend themselves against attack.”

Peter Swire: Don’t delete Internet privacy: Porn web sites file DMCA subpoenas to identify visitors.

Office of Civil Rights letter regarding speech codes and the First Amendment:

OCR has consistently maintained that schools in regulating the conduct of students and faculty to prevent or redress discrimination must formulate, interpret, and apply their rules in a manner that respects the legal rights of students and faculty, including those court precedents interpreting the concept of free speech. OCR’s regulations and policies do not require or prescribe speech, conduct or harassment codes that impair the exercise of rights protected under the First Amendment.

See also a deeper analysis of the letter from
Eugene Volokh.

EFF: Federal Court Spurns Recording Industry Enforcement Tactics:

“Today’s ruling requires the recording industry to file subpoenas where it alleges that copyright infringement occurs, rather than blanketing the country from one court in D.C.,” said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer, in a statement.

Grinnell Plans lives! after being shut down by college administrators and their newly-issued Academic Computer Use Policies.
Grinnell faculty include some analysis of
Why Did Osgood and Francis Take Down Plans?

[via Lawrence Lessig]

EcoTalk and
Scoop:
E-Voting Expert Ousted From Elections Conference:

Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, a leading expert in voting machine security, had her conference credentials revoked by the president of the International Association of Clerks, Records, Election Officials, and Treasurers (IACREOT), Marianne Rickenbach. …
David Chaum, the inventor of eCash and a member of Mercuri’s ‘voter-verified paper ballot’ group, had his credentials revoked on the first day of the conference. On the second day his credentials were partially restored. Chaum was allowed to visit the exhibitors hall, but not attend the IACREOT meetings.

If, as demonstrated above, the security strategy of the voting machine industry is security by obscurity, then it is doomed to perpetual failure. That’s not good enough!

The Register:
«
Northwestern University law professor Anthony D’Amato has issued a strong caution to universities, calling on them to consider students’ privacy before shipping them off to the RIAA sponsored legal gulag.
»

Techdirt:People Know About Legit Download Sites – But No Interest

Vint Cerf: Reporters sans frontières – The Internet under surveillance: Obstacles to the free flow of information online:
«
The free flow of information is not free.
»