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Press Release | September 13, 2003

Voting Machine Standard Generates Controversy

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today urged a technical association to stop balloting on a
flawed proposal for an electronic voting machine standard.
EFF invited concerned parties to write letters to the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
(IEEE), requesting an...

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Press Release | September 8, 2003

Recording Industry Announces Lawsuits Against Music Sharers

San Francisco - The Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) today filed 261 lawsuits against people who
allegedly shared copyrighted music online. The RIAA
announced plans to sue more file-sharers and introduced an
"amnesty" program available only to file-sharers who the
RIAA has not yet...

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Press Release | September 5, 2003

Congress Plans Hearings on Recording Industry Tactics

San Francisco - Ninety-five organizations, ranging across
the political spectrum, today sent letters to the chairs of
the Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees and the
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to thank them for planning
hearings on the subpoena provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act...

Read more about Congress Plans Hearings on Recording Industry Tactics

Press Release | September 5, 2003

Recording Industry Plans "Amnesty" for Music Sharers

San Francisco - Numerous news sources, including Billboard
and Associated Press, have reported since yesterday that the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will
announce an "amnesty" program for people who are sharing
music files online perhaps as early as next week.

"Rather than demanding that...

Read more about Recording Industry Plans "Amnesty" for Music Sharers

Press Release | September 2, 2003

EFF Comment on DMCA Garage Door Opener Ruling

A federal district court in Chicago has rejected an effort by garage door opener vendor Chamberlain to use the DMCA to ban its competitor, Skylink, from selling replacement "clickers" for Chamberlain openers. "The Court properly rejected Chamberlain's use of the DMCA (PDF) to lock people out of their...

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Press Release | August 26, 2003

SCO to Sue Individual Linux Users

On Wednesday, August 25, the SCO Group Inc. announced plans to sue individual Linux users who decline to pay it a $700 license fee. "Suing consumers in order to speed-up resolution of SCO's lawsuit against IBM is completely unjustifiable," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "SCO should prove...

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Press Release | August 25, 2003

California Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech in DVD Case

San Francisco - The California Supreme Court ruled today that publication of information regarding the decoding of DVDs merits a strong level of protection as free speech and sent a key case back to a lower court for a decision on whether a court can prevent Andrew Bunner from publishing...

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Press Release | August 8, 2003

Federal Court Spurns Recording Industry Enforcement Tactics

Boston, MA - A Massachusetts district court today dealt the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a serious
setback by rejecting its Washington, D.C., subpoenas for
the identities of Massachusetts students. For the moment,
MIT and Boston College need not respond to the RIAA demands.

"Today's...

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Press Release | August 8, 2003

Massachusetts Court Stops RIAA Juggernaut

A Massachusetts district court blocked the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) from using a single court in Washington, D.C., to issue subpoenas for Massachusetts students' identities. "The court rejected the RIAA's bald-faced attempt to use a single D.C. court ruling to steamroller Internet users' privacy nationwide," said EFF staff...

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Press Release | July 31, 2003

Pacific Bell Sues Recording Industry for Customer Privacy

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation today
applauded a lawsuit brought by Pacific Bell Internet
Services against three organizations that are manipulating
copyright laws to violate the privacy of ISP customers.

The case concerns 97 subpoenas directed to Pacific Bell
over the past two weeks....

Read more about Pacific Bell Sues Recording Industry for Customer Privacy

Press Release | July 25, 2003

File Sharers: See If the Recording Industry Is After You

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today offered important resources to those wondering
whether the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
has filed a subpoena seeking their identities in connection
with a crackdown on music file-sharing.

EFF is assisting Internet users by offering a...

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Press Release | July 24, 2003

EFF on FCC's Order Regarding Implementation of Children's Internet Protection Act

The Federal Communications Commission today adopted measures to ensure that implementation of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a law mandating the use of Internet blocking software in public libraries, complies with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding that law. "The FCC failed to take this opportunity to...

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Press Release | July 23, 2003

Security Researchers Discover Huge Flaws in E-Voting System

San Francisco - In response to today's release of research
about critical security flaws in e-voting systems, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged immediate passage
of e-voting legislation to prevent election fraud.

Security researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Rice
University announced today that they have...

Read more about Security Researchers Discover Huge Flaws in E-Voting System

Press Release | July 18, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation Launches File Sharing Ads

San Francisco - An ad from the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) intended for the more than 60 million U.S.
residents sharing music files online appeared in Rolling
Stone's August 9 issue, hitting the stands today.

The EFF ad -- part of an ongoing campaign to protect the
...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation Launches File Sharing Ads

Press Release | July 17, 2003

Misguided "Anti-Piracy" Bill Introduced in Congress

San Francisco - Members of the U.S. Congress yesterday
introduced the Author, Consumer, and Computer Owner
Protection and Security (ACCOPS) Act of 2003, targeting for
criminal prosecution the 60 million Americans engaged in
Internet file sharing of music and movies.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today...

Read more about Misguided "Anti-Piracy" Bill Introduced in Congress

Press Release | July 2, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation Issues E-Voting Alert

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation issued an
action alert this week warning that electronic voting
machines installed without a verifiable paper audit trail
and open source software programming are vulnerable to
election fraud.

"Touchscreen voting machines can increase accessibility for
people with disabilities,...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation Issues E-Voting Alert

Press Release | July 1, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation Defends Printer Cartridge Co.

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today asked a federal appeals court to rule that a company can examine a competitor's technology in order to manufacture printer toner cartridges compatible with Lexmark printers without facing a copyright lawsuit.

Printer maker Lexmark had sued, claiming that cartridge remanufacturer Static...

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Press Release | June 30, 2003

EFF on 7th Circuit Aimster Ruling

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled against Madster (formerly known as Aimster). "Just as the inventors of the photocopier and the VCR, today's innovators should be free to produce useful products without fear of being sued simply because some people may misuse their products to commit copyright...

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Press Release | June 30, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation "Let the Music Play" Campaign

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
today launched a "Let the Music Play" campaign urging the
more than 60 million U.S. citizens who use file-sharing
software to demand changes in copyright law to get artists
paid and make file-sharing legal.

The EFF Let the...

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Press Release | June 25, 2003

EFF on RIAA's Attack on the American Public

EFF responds to today's announcement by the RIAA that it will begin gathering evidence that will be used to sue individuals who use file-sharing software: "It's plain that the dinosaurs of the recording industry have completely lost touch with reality," said Fred von Lohmann, EFF senior staff attorney. "At...

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Press Release | June 18, 2003

Public Has Right to Skip or Mute Movie Scenes

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today asked a federal court to rule that people have the right to use technology to skip scenes or mute language they find disturbing while viewing movies they have obtained lawfully.
The case, entitled Huntsman v. Soderbergh, involves consumer use of...

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Press Release | June 18, 2003

EFF responds to Hatch on computer destruction

Senator Orrin Hatch proposed yesterday that entertainment companies be entitled to destroy people's computers after two warnings of copyright infringement, according to press reports. "This is an entirely unreasonable proposal, tantamount to a debt collector sending you two warnings that your car payment is late and then claiming that...

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Press Release | June 10, 2003

EFF on Digital Networks' decision to disable ReplayTV's features

EFF is disappointed with Digital Networks North America's decision to disable the Commercial Advance and Send Show features in new model 5500 ReplayTVs. "This is yet another example of Hollywood dictating what technologies consumers can and can't use" said EFF Attorney Gwen Hinze. "Consumers are the real losers from Digital...

Read more about EFF on Digital Networks' decision to disable ReplayTV's features

Press Release | June 4, 2003

EFF Statement on Court Order Requiring Verizon to Identify Users Pending Further Rulings

"RIAA's claim that it has an emergency need to violate the privacy of the two Verizon users is weak, especially since one of those users has already filed a declaration stating that he has disabled KaZaA entirely," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Once again, RIAA has shown that it...

Read more about EFF Statement on Court Order Requiring Verizon to Identify Users Pending Further Rulings

Press Release | June 2, 2003

Dastar Court strengthens public domain

EFF welcomes the Supreme Court's decision in Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox, that the Lanham Act does not interfere with republication of uncopyrighted works. "The Supreme Court's unanimous decision recognized that the public should be free to reuse materials from the public domain," said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer...

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Press Release | May 27, 2003

California Supreme Court to Hear DVD Case

San Francisco - The California Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for May 29, 2003, on a key legal challenge to the publication of information regarding the decryption of DVDs. In the case, called DVD-CCA v. Bunner, California resident Andrew Bunner was one of thousands of republishers of the DVD-decryption...

Read more about California Supreme Court to Hear DVD Case

Press Release | May 21, 2003

EFF on Veto of Colorado Super-DMCA

"Governor Owens, in vetoing the Colorado super-DMCA bill, recognized that these bills are bad for innovation, bad for competition, and bad for consumers," said Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney with the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation. "These MPAA-sponsored bills represent the worst kind of special interest legislation, sacrificing the public...

Read more about EFF on Veto of Colorado Super-DMCA

Press Release | May 20, 2003

TIA Report Shines No New Light

The Bush Administration released its long-awaited report to Congress on the "Total Information Awareness" program today. (Now renamed "Terrorism Information Awareness") "The report is disappointing -- after more than a hundred pages, you don't know anything more about whether TIA will work or whether your civil liberties will be...

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Press Release | May 15, 2003

Court Hears 321 Studios Argument

Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California heard arguments in 321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer this morning on whether 321's DVD backup software violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. "Fair use and the DMCA have been on a collision course since 1998," said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy...

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Press Release | May 1, 2003

EFF on College Student Settlements

The Wall Street Journal reports that all four of the college students recently sued by the RIAA have settled their actions, agreeing to pay between $12,000 and $17,500 each without admitting any wrongdoing. The students allegedly maintained "index servers" that allowed students to search on-campus local area networks (LANs...

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Press Release | April 24, 2003

Court Gives Hollywood Broad Powers to Violate Your Privacy

The D.C. District Court today ruled that alleged copyright infringers are to be deemed guilty until proven innocent. Judge Bates agreed with RIAA that copyright holders can issue subpoenas to ISPs to demand identifying information about any Internet users based upon a mere allegation of infringement, with no notice to...

Read more about Court Gives Hollywood Broad Powers to Violate Your Privacy

Press Release | March 20, 2012

Electronic Frontier Foundation Supports Unlicensed Spectrum

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
San Francisco, CA - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today supported a spectrum policy proposal from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and asked the FCC to acknowledge its First Amendment obligation to allocate additional spectrum for unlicensed use. Unlicensed use of spectrum would...

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Press Release | April 14, 2003

EFF on Interz0ne threats

EFF is concerned about Blackboard's use of legal threats and a temporary restraining order to block a reverse engineering discussion at the Interz0ne II conference this past weekend. We have been contacted in the matter. "Stopping speakers as they are preparing to give a scientific talk is a...

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Press Release | April 3, 2003

EFF on RIAA's Latest P2P Lawsuits

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today announced that it has filed lawsuits against four college students, accusing them of running "Napster-like" services inside their university networks. "This is another in a string of unfortunate efforts by the recording industry to treat music fans like criminals," said Fred...

Read more about EFF on RIAA's Latest P2P Lawsuits

Press Release | March 28, 2003

EFF: Federal Court Reverses in Taxes.com Web Publishing Case

Oakland, CA - A federal court today agreed with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) that the tax problem help website Taxes.com should not be forced to rewrite truthful information in order to appear less prominently in search engine results.
"The court's decision to reverse an earlier ruling on Taxes.com...

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Press Release | March 28, 2003

CBS Rejects Gateway Ad

CBS has rejected a new television commercial produced by Gateway aimed at educating consumers about enjoying digital music while respecting copyright. The computer-maker had created the ad to accompany its new "RipBurnRespect" campaign. "The entertainment industries have stressed the need for 'copyright education,' said Fred von Lohmann, EFF...

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Press Release | March 21, 2003

EFF on SonicBlue Bankruptcy

SonicBlue today announced its intention to file for bankruptcy protection. The company, maker of the ReplayTV digital video recorder, has been spending as much as $1 million a month in litigation expenses to defend a lawsuit brought by more than two dozen entertainment companies. The entertainment companies allege...

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Press Release | February 28, 2003

Electronic Frontier Foundation on SonicBlue Bankruptcy

SonicBlue today announced its intention to file for bankruptcy protection.
The company, maker of the ReplayTV digital video recorder, has been spending as much as $1 million a month in litigation expenses to defend a lawsuit brought by more than two dozen entertainment companies. The entertainment companies allege that...

Read more about Electronic Frontier Foundation on SonicBlue Bankruptcy

Press Release | February 8, 2003

Patriot II

"We're still reeling from the original USA-Patriot Act's impact on civil liberties and now the government wants more," said Cindy Cohn, EFF's Legal Director. "Where is the evidence that the law passed less than two years ago is insufficient? When will Congress draw the line and say 'this much of...

Read more about Patriot II

Press Release | January 16, 2003

Hollywood Not on the Same Planet as ReplayTV Fans

PlanetReplay.com, a website popular with digital video recorder (DVR) fans, shut down part of its operations today fearing a lawsuit by Hollywood and violation of users' privacy rights.
After intense questioning by entertainment company lawyers on Tuesday, Planet Replay site operator Chad Little removed a part of the site...

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Press Release | December 16, 2002

Jury Acquits Elcomsoft in eBook Copyright Case

The highly publicized case that began with the arrest of Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov today came to a close. A federal jury in San Jose today returned a verdict of not guilty on all counts in the criminal trial of Sklyarov's employer, a Russian software company called Elcomsoft Ltd. The...

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Press Release | December 15, 2002

Hollywood Loses Again in ReplayTV Case

Another federal judge today affirmed the right of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to represent ReplayTV owners in their lawsuit against 28 motion picture and television industry companies.
Craig Newmark of craigslist.org and four other ReplayTV customers are suing the entertainment companies to clarify their rights to record television...

Read more about Hollywood Loses Again in ReplayTV Case

Press Release | August 9, 2016

California Court Cannot Lasso Texas Resident into DVD Case

San Francisco - The California Supreme Court today ruled that a Texas resident who published a software program on the Internet cannot be forced to stand trial in California.
The court found that Matthew Pavlovich, who republished an open source DVD-descrambling software program called DeCSS, will not have to...

Read more about California Court Cannot Lasso Texas Resident into DVD Case

Press Release | November 21, 2002

"Visa" Torn From Dictionary by Credit Card Company

Las Vegas, Nevada - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today appealed a court ruling stripping the name "visa" from the evisa.com website and domain.
In October 2002, credit card giant Visa convinced a Las Vegas federal court to prevent the small business JSL Corp. from using the term "evisa"...

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Press Release | October 15, 2002

Hollywood Loses Bid to Limit Representation in ReplayTV Case

A federal court today affirmed the right of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to represent ReplayTV owners in their lawsuit against 28 motion picture and television industry companies.
Craig Newmark of craigslist.org and four other ReplayTV
customers are suing the entertainment companies to clarify their rights to record...

Read more about Hollywood Loses Bid to Limit Representation in ReplayTV Case

Press Release | October 3, 2002

Hollywood Slams Electronic Frontier Foundation - Tries to Limit Legal Representation in ReplayTV Case

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) attorneys yesterday rejected an attempt by Hollywood entertainment companies to prevent access to critical court documents in a case involving the rights of five ReplayTV owners.
Craig Newmark of craigslist.org, and four other ReplayTV customers, are suing the companies to clarify their rights to record...

Read more about Hollywood Slams Electronic Frontier Foundation - Tries to Limit Legal Representation in ReplayTV Case

Press Release | August 16, 2002

Judge Grants Consumer Voice in ReplayTV Lawsuit - Hollywood Tries to Skip Over Consumers' Concerns

Los Angeles - Judge Florence Cooper today granted five ReplayTV owners a voice in the court debate over their rights to record television programs and to skip commercials using digital video recorders (DVRs). The federal court denied the entertainment industry motion to dismiss the ReplayTV owners' lawsuit and agreed to...

Read more about Judge Grants Consumer Voice in ReplayTV Lawsuit - Hollywood Tries to Skip Over Consumers' Concerns

Press Release | August 15, 2002

Musician Disputes Industry's Stance on Music Sharing

San Francisco - Grammy-winning songwriter and recording
artist Janis Ian today challenged the music industry by
celebrating peer-to-peer (P2P) music sharing as a boon to
musicians.

Ian, who is in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of her
current concert tour, recently published "The Internet
...

Read more about Musician Disputes Industry's Stance on Music Sharing

Press Release | July 29, 2002

Court Grants Access to Net Regulatory Corp Records

Los Angeles - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Director Karl Auerbach prevailed in his lawsuit against ICANN today, gaining access to records management had improperly withheld for more than 18 months. Rejecting ICANN's claim that it could impose vague and broad restrictions on Auerbach's access, Judge Dzintra...

Read more about Court Grants Access to Net Regulatory Corp Records

Press Release | May 22, 2002

California Supreme Court Hears DVD Trade Secret Case

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the First Amendment Project today asked the California Supreme Court to affirm an appeals court decision permitting publication of software pending a lower court's ruling on a trade secret case. In a tremendous victory for freedom of speech on the Internet,...

Read more about California Supreme Court Hears DVD Trade Secret Case

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