RE: [dvd-discuss] Software company to sue student over using shift key

["Dean Sanchez" <DSANCHEZ(at)fcci-group.com>]

This doesn't detract from the chilling effect the DMCA has.  I would have loved to see this one go to court.   I think that the publicity from this would have firmly illustrated the problem with the act and probably set a beneficial precedent for the citizens.  No matter how technologically inept a jury was, I don't think that it would have found against Halderman for telling people to hold down the shift key.

 

You notice that Jacobs is not saying that he was wrong.  Just that harm was done to his company and suing Halderman wouldn't recover the loss.  Nothing at all to indicate that he was wrong to sue in the first place or that there is something wrong with a law that lets commercial interests threaten the free speech of a citizen for doing nothing but speak the truth.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu [mailto:owner-dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu]On Behalf Of Michael A Rolenz
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2003 1:18 PM
To: dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
Subject: Re: [dvd-discuss] Software company to sue student over using shift key

Best quote

 "I don't want to be the people my parents warned me to stay away from,"
said Jacobs of his decision. "It's 10 million bucks, but maybe I can make it
back, and maybe [Halderman] can learn a little bit more about our technology
so as not to call it brain dead."

"James S. Tyre" <jstyre@jstyre.com> Sent by: owner-dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu 10/10/2003 10:11 AM Please respond to dvd-discuss

To:        dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu         cc:                 Subject:        Re: [dvd-discuss] Software company to sue student over using shift key

SunnComm backed off late yesterday.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2003/10/10/news/8797.shtml
Threat of lawsuit passes for student
SunnComm backs down from lawsuit against a computer science grad student

Josh Brodie
Princetonian Staff Writer

   SunnComm Technologies, Inc. announced yesterday morning it would sue first-year graduate student John Halderman over his recent critique of the company's new CD copy-protection method, but by the end of the day SunnComm president and CEO Peter Jacobs said he changed his mind.

   Jacobs said in an interview late last night that a successful lawsuit would do little to reverse the damage done by the paper Halderman published Monday about his research, and any suit would likely hurt the research community by making computer scientists think twice about researching copy-protection technology.

   "I don't want to be the guy that creates any kind of chilling effect on research," Jacobs said.

[....]

At 10:04 AM 10/10/2003 -0700, Michael A Rolenz wrote:

The paper is at

http://ncstrl.cs.princeton.edu/expand.php?id=TR-679-03

get it while it's hot before it's not...[available]




"Dean Sanchez" <DSANCHEZ@fcci-group.com>
Sent by: owner-dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu

10/10/2003 06:02 AM
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This article removes any doubt that the DMCA is irreparably flawed and the IP industry has lost all touch with reality.  I am left speechless at the audacity of SunnComm's claim (follow second link to its site).

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=12034

http://www.sunncomm.com/press/pressrelease.asp?prid=200310091000





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