.........!.........!.........!.........!.........!.........!.. EFFector 23.5: Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers EFFector Vol. 23, No. 5, February 19, 2010 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 528th issue: ~ Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers Over the last few months, the universe of digital books has expanded dramatically, with products like Amazon's Kindle, Google Books, Internet Archive's Text Archive, Barnes and Noble's Nook, and Apple's upcoming iPad poised to revolutionize reading. But while this digital books revolution could make books more accessible than ever before, there are lingering questions about the future of reader privacy, consumers' rights, and potential censorship. What questions should consumers ask before buying a digital book or reader? EFF has published "Digital Books and Your Rights," a checklist for readers considering buying into the digital book marketplace. Full press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/02/16-0 Full report on Digital Books and Your Rights: https://www.eff.org/wp/digital-books-and-your-rights ~ Online Software Reseller Battles Bogus Infringement Allegations EFF, joined by a coalition of public interest, consumer, and library groups, has urged a federal appeals court to preserve consumers' rights and the first sale doctrine in a battle over an Internet auction of used computer software. Timothy Vernor is an online software reseller who tried to auction four packages of Autodesk's AutoCAD software on eBay. Autodesk threatened Mr. Vernor with a copyright lawsuit, claiming that its software is only "licensed," never sold. With the assistance of the public interest litigators at Public Citizen, Vernor filed suit in Seattle against Autodesk, asking the court to clarify his right to resell the AutoCAD software packages. He prevailed before the district court in 2009, prompting Autodesk to appeal. http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/02/11 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Updates: ~ Redbox, Movie Studios, and the Subversion of First Sale As we’ve explained before, a number of Hollywood movie studios have been on the war path against Redbox, the kiosk-based DVD rental operation, because Redbox offers DVD new releases for rent at 99 cents per night. Thanks to the first sale doctrine in copyright law, Redbox's business is completely legal—the company buys legitimate DVDs to stock their kiosks. This is great for consumers, and it provides an alternative for those who might otherwise opt for an unauthorized copy online. But Hollywood wasn't pleased and took a number of steps to interfere with Redbox's business, which in turn led to lawsuits. Earlier this week, Redbox and Warner Brothers settled their litigation, with Redbox promising not to offer Warner DVDs until 28 days after the DVD goes on sale. In other words, no more Warner new releases in the Redbox kiosks. Analysts predict this will be a blueprint for similar settlements with other Hollywood studios. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/02/redbox-movie-studios-and-subversion-first-sale ~ Google Buzz Privacy Update Google has announced significant changes to its new social networking service, Buzz. Responding to criticism, Google moved away from the system in which Buzz automatically sets you up to follow the people you email and chat with most. Instead, Google has adopted an auto-suggest model, in which you are shown the friend list with an option to de-select people before publishing the list. While a full opt-in model would be less likely to result in inadvertent disclosures of private information, this is a significant step forward. In addition, Google said it would show current Buzz users the setup process again, giving a second chance to review and confirm the follower list "over the next couple weeks." We recommend that all current Buzz users immediately turn off their public lists and review their friend lists before making them public again. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/02/google-buzz-privacy-update ~ Music Journalism Is the New Piracy Imagine you're a music journalist who maintains a blog. You've just found a great, new, virtually-unknown artist you want to share with the world. How can you do so in a way that is simple and convenient for your readers but does not place you or your blog's host at risk of being sued? Thanks to the increasingly aggressive copyright-enforcement tactics of the music industry, this has become a startlingly complicated question with no good answer. In the latest signal of this conundrum, at least six music blogs were deleted by Blogger due to copyright complaints. It's uncertain who made the accusations that led to the deletions, but the most likely culprit is the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a copyright-enforcement organization that had previously filed copyright takedown notices against some of the targeted blogs. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/02/musicblogocide ~ EFF to Wisconsin: Just Say No to Warrantless GPS Tracking ACLU National, ACLU of Wisconsin, and EFF have filed an amicus brief in the Wisconsin Supreme Court arguing that the law of that state prohibits police from installing a GPS device on you or your car without first getting a warrant from a judge. A growing number of state high courts have decided that their citizens should be protected from suspicionless GPS tracking, recognizing that uninterrupted around-the-clock surveillance is qualitatively different from ordinary police observations of a suspect. In the Wisconsin case, People v. Sveum, we ask the court to follow the example of Washington, New York, and Massachusetts and find that GPS tracking is a search that requires a warrant. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/02/eff-wisconsin-just-say-no-warrantless-gps-tracking ~ Ten Year Term of EFF Chairman Brad Templeton Winds Down After serving served ten years as EFF's board chairman, Brad Templeton has rotated out. John Buckman, founder of Magnatune and Bookmooch (among other ventures) is the new chair, and law professor Pam Samuelson will serve as vice-chair, replacing John Perry Barlow. John Perry and Brad remain active members of EFF's board. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/02/10-year-term-eff-chairman-winds-down-eff-20th ~ Google Superbowl Ad Explains the Need for Search Privacy Google's ad during this year’s Superbowl explained in less than a minute how the story of someone's life can be pieced together from their search queries. Using only the search terms and user's clicks of the search results, Google told the story of a user who seeks love while studying abroad in Paris, finds it, moves to Paris, marries and has a child. The poignant story, along with Google's suite of search stories, masterfully illustrates how some of the most intimate information in our lives -- from planning a trip to political activism -- are routinely and vividly expressed in our interactions with Google, and highlights the need for that information to have strong privacy protections. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/02/google-superbowl-ad-explains-need-search-privacy : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ Laptop Webcams Used to Spy on Students BoingBoing reports that a lawsuit charges school administrators with using laptop webcams to spy on students at school and at home. http://eff.org/r.g8f ~ Action Alert: Export Fair Use & Innovation Policy Public Knowledge wants you to contact the US Trade Representative on "Special 301" and balance in copyright. http://bit.ly/dnZVQE ~ Australia Deserves an Open Internet A new coalition Down Under is fighting back against plans to filter the Internet. ~ Cell Phones and Privacy The New York Times editorial board speaks out in support of EFF's recent Third Circuit argument about cell phone location privacy. http://eff.org/r.g6a ~ Copy Machines and Privacy CBS-5 reports that many copy machines have a built-in drives that retain copies of your documents indefinitely. http://eff.org/r.f6T ~ EFF's 20th Party in Photos Here's a fun photo-montage of EFF's 20th Anniversary Party last week in San Francisco. http://eff.org/r.g9b : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * EFF at SCaLE in Los Angeles! See what's new in free and open source software at the Southern California Linux Expo from February 19-21! EFF is proud to support SCaLE and the open source community. Stop by our membership booth to say hello! Location: Westin LAX 5400 West Century Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90045 Phone: (310) 216-5858 Exhibition: February 20 and 21, 2010 Exhibit Hall Room: Westin Grand Ballroom Exhibit Hall Hours: 10am 6pm For more information: http://www.socallinuxexpo.org * NEW Liberty Mecha Member Shirts! EFF's 20th Anniversary celebration rages on with AMAZING new Liberty Mecha member shirts from artist Hugh D'Andrade! Who needs a jetpack when you have a digital freedom-fighting robotic exoskeleton? These super cool Liberty Mecha shirts debuted at our birthday party and are now available as donor premiums while supplies last! http://secure.eff.org/donate : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Administrivia EFFector is published by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org/about Editor: Eva Galperin, Referral Coordinator eva@eff.org Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org To support EFF: http://links.eff.org/emaildonate General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: information@eff.org Back issues of EFFector are available at: http://www.eff.org/effector/
