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Category Archives: Digital Rights

Web Site Accessibility and Digital Rights

Joe Clark, author of Building Accessible Websites, published a white paper on Accessibility implications of digital rights management in which concludes, “Digital rights management, as currently designed, will harm people with disabilities and others who rely on accessibility features.” See also Fiddling with the Internet Dials: Understanding Usability. Continue Reading

The Rise and Fall of Napster

All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning’s Napster, was reviewed in the Sunday Washington Post as “a richly reported behind-the-scenes account of the rise and fall of Napster Inc., the online music-swapping phenomenon.” From the Boston Globe, see also this article by the book’s author, Joseph Menn, The Man Who Hijacked Napster,… Continue Reading

Piracy, Digital Copyright and the Movie Industry

Two recent articles focusing on the digital rights controversy merit noting: The Pirates Among Us: “The entertainment industry is battling the illegal distribution of copyrighted music and movie files-and will stop at nothing to enlist your help.” Pirates and Posses: The Battle over Digital Copyright by James L. Gattuso, Bruce Mehlman, Alec French, Gary Shapiro,… Continue Reading

Digital Millennium Copyright and Competition

Copyright Versus Consumers’ Rights: How Companies are Using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to Thwart Competition, March 25. From the article: “Unlike in prior DMCA disputes, the object of Lexmark’s DMCA claim is not to prevent piracy of a copyrighted work. Instead, it is to prevent rivals from offering cheaper cartridges for Lexmark’s printers. This… Continue Reading

RIAA Expands Efforts to Stop File Swapping

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been pursuing a high-profile campaign against P2P file sharing that stretches from college and university campuses to the cubicles of corporate America. On March 12, RIAA President Cary H. Sherman sent letters to 300 companies warning that “significant legal damages” could result from employers and employees who… Continue Reading

Cybercrime, File Sharing and College Students

On March 13, the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property held an Oversight Hearing on “International Copyright Piracy: Links to Organized Crime and Terrorism” Links are as follows to the:Witness List, John Malcolm, Rich LaMagna, Joan Borsten Vidov, Jack Valenti. Although not a focus of the hearing, campus-wide file sharing was mentioned. See… Continue Reading

New Bill to Protect Consumer Rights In the Digital Age

On March 4, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the Benefit Authors without Limiting Advancement or Net Consumer Expectations, or BALANCE Act, that mirrors the text of H. R. 5522, the Digital Choice and Freedom Act of 2002, introduced by Lofgren October 2, 2002. From yesterday’s press release: “This legislation would ensure that consumers are able… Continue Reading