Freedom of speech should not be sacrificed in the recording industry's war to restrict the public from making copies of digital music. EFF has asked a federal court to declare that scientists from Princeton and Rice University can publish their research on digital music security weaknesses at the USENIX Conference in August 2001.
When a team led by Princeton Professor Edward Felten accepted a public challenge by the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) to break new security systems, they did not give up their First Amendment right to teach others what they learned. Yet they have been threatened by SDMI and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to keep silent or face litigation under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Professor Felten has a career teaching people about security, yet the recording industry has censored him for finding weaknesses in their security. USENIX regularly publishes scientific papers that describe the weaknesses of technologies, but they are chilled by RIAA litigation threats.
EFF is asking the court to affirm the right of these scientists to publicly present what they have learned and the right of USENIX to publish the scientists' paper in their conference proceedings. EFF has also asked the court to overturn the anti-distribution provisions of the DMCA as unconstitutional restraints on the freedom of expression. Join EFF's fight for scientific freedom in the digital age.
Frequently Asked Questions About Felten v. RIAA -
Introductory Q&A about this landmark case defending academic and other freedom of expression rights from encroachment by overzealous intellectual property laws and interests.
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/faq_felten.html
EFF Media Release: Felten Drops RIAA Case -
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release: Security Researchers Drop Scientific Censorship Case - Government, Industry Claim DMCA Not a Threat to Science. San Francisco - Citing assurances from the government, the recording industry, and a federal court that the threats against his research team were ill-conceived and will not be repeated, Professor Edward Felten and his research team decided not to appeal the November dismissal of their case by a New Jersey Federal Court.
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20020206_eff_felten_pr.html
Final Hearing Transcript -
Transcript of final hearing before US federal court, in Felten et al. v RIAA et al. (Nov. 28, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011128_hearing_transcript.html
Final Hearing Transcript -
Transcript of final hearing before US federal court, in Felten et al. v RIAA et al. (Nov. 28, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011128_hearing_transcript.pdf
EFF Article on Felten Case: "Digital Millennium Dark Ages" -
EFF Article: Digital Millennium Dark Ages - New Copyright Law Used to Threaten Scientific Research (Nov. 7, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011107_eff_felten_article.html
EFF Media Release: Scientists Support Professor's Copyright Law Challenge -
Trenton, NJ - Seventeen of the world's top scientists today supported Princeton University Professor Edward Felten and his research team's challenge to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) on free speech grounds. Prominent academics, cryptographers, software programmers, and scientific conference organizers explained to a federal court the stifling effects of the DMCA on scientific research and freedom of expression. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) represents the research team in a lawsuit filed June 6 asking a federal judge to declare that the scientists have a First Amendment right to publish their research. (Aug. 13, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_eff_felten_pr.html
DoJ Reply Brief (against EFF/Felten Opposition Brief to DoJ Motion to Dismiss) -
US Department of Justice Reply Brief in Felten v. RIAA case challenging use of DMCA legal threats to silence scientists. Government's brief claims that plaintiffs' claims are not ripe, and that the threat they feel is not credible, and that the court should not grant them any relief. (Nov. 8, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011108_doj_reply_brief.html
DoJ Reply Brief (against EFF/Felten Opposition Brief to DoJ Motion to Dismiss) -
US Department of Justice Reply Brief in Felten v. RIAA case challenging use of DMCA legal threats to silence scientists. Government's brief claims that plaintiffs' claims are not ripe, and that the threat they feel is not credible, and that the court should not grant them any relief. (Nov. 8, 2001) [RTF format]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011108_doj_reply_brief.rtf
EFF/Felten Opposition Brief against DoJ Motion to Dismiss -
EFF/Felten Plaintiffs' Brief in Opposition to Dept. of Justice's Motion To Dismiss; opposing the DoJ & RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001) [PDF format]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011025_eff_felten_opp_brief.pdf
EFF/Felten Opposition Brief against DoJ Motion to Dismiss -
EFF/Felten Plaintiffs' Brief in Opposition to Dept. of Justice's Motion To Dismiss; opposing the DoJ & RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001) [RTF/RichText format, readable with any word processor]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011025_eff_felten_opp_brief.rtf
Supplemental Declaration of Ed Felten -
Plaintiff Prof. Edward W. Felten's supplemental declaration on how the DMCA impedes scientific research and publication, and could even harm U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. (Oct. 22, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011022_felten_sup_decl.pdf
Supplemental Declaration of Ed Felten -
Plaintiff Prof. Edward W. Felten's supplemental declaration on how the DMCA impedes scientific research and publication, and could even harm U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. (Oct. 22, 2001) [RTF/RichText version, readable with any word processor]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011022_felten_sup_decl.rtf
Supplemental Declaration of Bede Liu -
Plaintiff Dr. Bede Liu's supplemental declaration on how the DMCA harms the ability of scientists to do their jobs and publish their research findings. (Oct. 22, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011021_liu_sup_decl.pdf
Supplemental Declaration of Bede Liu -
Plaintiff Dr. Bede Liu's supplemental declaration on how the DMCA harms the ability of scientists to do their jobs and publish their research findings. (Oct. 22, 2001) [RTF/RichText version, readable with any word processor]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011021_liu_sup_decl.rtf
Supplemental Declaration of Scott Craver -
Plaintiff Scott Craver, Princeton U. grad student, supplemental declaration on how the Dept. of Justice has fundamentally misunderstood, in its motion to dismiss, the scientific issues and standard practices at stake. (Oct. 23, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011023_craver_sup_decl.pdf
Supplemental Declaration of Scott Craver -
Plaintiff Scott Craver, Princeton U. grad student, supplemental declaration on how the Dept. of Justice has fundamentally misunderstood, in its motion to dismiss, the scientific issues and standard practices at stake. (Oct. 23, 2001) [RTF/RichText version, readable with any word processor]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011023_craver_sup_decl.rtf
Declaration of Gene Spafford -
Purdue U. Prof. Eugene H. Spafford's declaration in support of plaintiffs, on how the DMCA prevents the development and distribution of forensic tools needed by computer scientists to investigate system security breaches. (Oct. 22, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011022_spafford_decl.pdf
Declaration of Gene Spafford -
Purdue U. Prof. Eugene H. Spafford's declaration in support of plaintiffs, on how the DMCA prevents the development and distribution of forensic tools needed by computer scientists to investigate system security breaches. (Oct. 22, 2001) [RTF/RichText version, readable with any word processor]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011022_spafford_decl.rtf
Declaration of Ross Anderson -
Cambridge [UK] Univ. Prof. Ross John Anderson's declaration, on the importance of security engineering, and on how the RIAA has abused the DMCA to suppress research about security weaknesses in SDMI. (Oct. 22, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011022_anderson_decl.pdf
Declaration of David Wagner -
UCB Asst. Prof. David Wagner's declaration in support of plaintiffs, on the chilling effects of the DMCA on security and encryption research. (Oct. 22, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20011022_wagner_decl.pdf
EFF/Felten Opposition Brief Against Industry Motion to Dismiss -
EFF/Felten Plaintiffs' Brief in Opposition to RIAA, SMDI And Verance's Motion To Dismiss; opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_eff_felten_brief.html
Declaration of Professor Ed Felten -
Declaration of Professor Ed Felten, opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_felten_decl.html
Usenix Declaration -
Declaration of Eleanor Young, Executive director of USENIX, opposing the RIAA, to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_usenix_decl.html
Computing Research Association Declaration -
Declaration of Computing Research Association, opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_cra_decl.html
Declaration of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) -
Declaration of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), made by John R. White, Executive Director of the ACM, opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_acm_decl.html
EFF Media Release: EFF & Scientists Sue RIAA Over Censorship -
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today asked a federal court to rule that Princeton University Professor Edward Felten and his research team have a First Amendment right to present their research on digital music access-control technologies at the USENIX Security Conference this August in Washington, DC, despite threats from the recording industry. When scientists from Princeton University and Rice University tried to publish their findings in April 2001, the recording industry claimed that the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it illegal to discuss or provide technology that might be used to bypass industry controls limiting how consumers can use music they have purchased. (June 6, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010606_eff_felten_pr.html
EFF's & Professors' First Amended Complaint in Felten v. RIAA -
Amended complaint in lawsuit by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Princeton Professor Edward Felten and others against the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA), Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) Foundation, Verance Inc., and the Dept. of Justice, challenging the constitutionality of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and its restraint of freedom of speech, publication and scientific research. (June 26, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010626_eff_felten_amended_complaint.html
EFF's & Professors' Original Complaint, in Felten v. RIAA -
Lawsuit by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Princeton Professor Edward Felten and others against the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA), Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) Foundation, Verance Inc., and the Dept. of Justice, challenging the constitutionality of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and its restraint of freedom of speech, publication and scientific research. (June 6, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010606_eff_felten_complaint.html
RIAA's Motion to Dismiss -
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss, in Felten v. RIAA (July 12, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010712_riaa_mtd_memo.html
RIAA's Motion to Dismiss -
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss, in Felten v. RIAA (July 12, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010712_riaa_mtd_memo.pdf
DoJ's Motion to Dismiss -
Defendant John Ashcroft's Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss, in Felten v. RIAA (Sep. 25, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010925_doj_dismiss_motion_memo.html
DoJ's Motion to Dismiss -
Defendant John Ashcroft's Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss, in Felten v. RIAA (Sep. 25, 2001) [PDF version]
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010925_doj_dismiss_motion_memo.pdf
Appel Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of Prof. Andrew W. Appel of Princeton University, opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_appel_decl.html
Blaze Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of cryptographer Matt Blaze, researcher at AT&T Labs, explaining how security research works, and what effect the DMCA has had on it. Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_blaze_decl.html
Cox Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of Alan Cox, of Red Hat UK Ltd., stating his unwillingness to be on the program committee of a Usenix conference for fear of US prosecution under the DMCA; in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_cox_decl.html
Craver Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of Scott Craver (Princeton U. PhD candidate), opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_craver_decl.html
Ende Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of Howard Ende, General Counsel for Princeton University, detailing the communications among himself, the paper's authors, and SDMI, RIAA, and Verance before the Information Hiding Workshop. In Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_ende_decl.html
Ferguson Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of Niels Ferguson, a Dutch cryptographer, announcing that he has found severe flaws in HDCP, an Intel-developed security system for preventing computer users from getting digital access to their own LCD monitors, but that he won't publish the details because he enters the US occasionally for business or personal reasons and does not wish to be arrested or sued under the DMCA. In Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_ferguson_decl.html
McHugh Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of John McHugh, general chair of the Information Hiding Workshop, describing what happened to the paper at that workshop. In Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_mchugh_decl.html
Reiter Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of computer security researcher Michael Reiter (Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies), opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_reiter_decl.html
Schneier Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of cryptographer Bruce Schneier (Counterpane Internet Security), opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_schneier_decl.html
Wallach Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of Asst. Prof. Dan Wallach (Rice U.), opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_wallach_decl.html
Min Wu Declaration in Felten v. RIAA -
Declaration of Min Wu (Princeton U.), opposing the RIAA to allow scientists to publish research without fear of lawsuits and arrest, in Felten v. RIAA (Aug. 13. 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010813_wu_decl.html
Verance's Letter to Judge Brown -
(June 25, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010625_verance_judge_letter.html
RIAA and SDMI's Letter to Judge Brown -
(June 21, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010621_riaa_sdmi_judge_letter.html
RIAA Statement on Felten Lawsuit -
Statement by RIAA's Cary Sherman on felten lawsuit, implausibly denying that RIAA or other defendants would have sued Professor Felten if he had published his "HackSDMI" research results. (June 6, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010606_riaa_statement.html
EFF Reply to RIAA Statement Regarding Felten Case -
Electronic Frontier Foundation's response to Recording Industry Association of America statement (issued in response to Felten lawsuit), in which RIAA implausibly denied that they or other defendants would have sued Professor Felten if he had published his "HackSDMI" research results. (June 6, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010606_eff_felten_riaa_reply.html
RIAA/SDMI Letter to Professor Felten -
Legal threat letter sent by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) Foundation, and SMDI member Verance Inc., to Princeton U. Professor Edward W. Felten, a U.S. Navy security conference organizer, a Navy official, and Princeton administrators, demanding Felten not publish or publicize his work - performed at SDMI's own invitation - exposing security flaws in SDMI's digital music copy protection scheme, or face a lawsuit under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). (Apr. 9, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010409_riaa_sdmi_letter.html
Statement by Prof. Felten, Re: SDMI -
Statement read by Prof. Edward W. Felten at the Fourth International Information Hiding Workshop, in Pittsburgh: "Our paper was submitted via the normal academic peer-review process. The reviewers, who were chosen for their scientific reputations and credentials, enthusiastically recommended the paper for publication, due to their judgment of the paper's scientific merit. Nevertheless, the Recording Industry Association of America, the SDMI Foundation, and the Verance Corporation threatened to bring a lawsuit if we proceeded with our presentation or the publication of our paper. Threats were made against the authors, against the conference organizers, and against their respective employers...." (Apr. 26, 2001)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/20010426_felten_message.html
Radio EFF Special on Felten, DMCA, & SDMI -
Electronic Frontier Foundation "Radio EFF" special feature on Prof. Edward W. Felten's legal imbroglio with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), and the technological & political background behind the scenes. RadioEFF is presented in (O)pen Audio MP3, and the special's topics include: Prof. Felten's self-introduction and why his team participated in the "HackSDMI Challenge"; the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and how it is harming free expression and academic research; secrets of digital watermarking; why RIAA wants copy-proof music; and more! (May, 2000)
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/Felten_v_RIAA/felten_audio.html
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) -
Link to directory of info on the probably unconstitutional Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which grossly interferes with free speech, freedom of the press, and academic freedom in the name of protecting intellectual property holders' profits.
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/
The Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) -
Link to directory of info on the industry standards group that has set itself up as responsible for protecting digital audio content at all costs - even your free speech and fair use rights. The SDMI copy prevention scheme is already being deployed in consumer MP3 hardware, despite its insecurity.
http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/SDMI/
Other Digital Rights Management (DRM) a.k.a. Copy Prevention Systems -
Link to directory of info on DRM or "copy protection" systems, their flaws, and the law, policy, economics and policy surrounding them.
http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/
Universal [MPAA] & US v. Corley -
Link to directory of info on a related DMCA case: the movie industry's attempt to thwart development of a Linux DVD player driver, and censor speech and publication about the necessary copy-prevention bypassing to make this possible. All in the name of unfounded piracy fears. (DVDs can be easily pirated without recourse to the software, DeCSS, at issue in the case.)
http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/MPAA_DVD_cases/
DVD-CCA v. McLaughlin, Bunner, et al. -
Link to directory of info on another related case: The DVD Copy Control Association (essentially MPAA under another name) attempts to stop distribution of DeCSS and halt Linux DVD driver development, using California trade secret law as well as the DMCA.
http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/DVDCCA_case/
RIAA v. Diamond -
Link to directory of info on another related case: Pre-DMCA, the Recording Industry of America attempts to stop hardware manufacturer Diamond from making and selling MP3 players that do not have copy-prevention "features" built in. RIAA loses.
http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/RIAA_v_Diamond/
EFF's Campaign for Audiovisual Free Expression (CAFE) -
Link to EFF's digital audio & video freedom campaign page
http://www.eff.org/cafe/
