Posts tagged case

Photo 6
Notes
Posted 1 year ago
Judge Orders Defendant to Decrypt Laptop | Threat Level | Wired.com. So that all is clear: this ruling means that your right to not incriminate yourself doesn’t protect you from having to unencrypt your laptop, but it does protect you from having the fact that you DID unencrypt it used against you. This case, notably, isn’t about whether or not the police can force you to unencrypt your laptop as part of a search, i.e. your 4th Amendment rights in this situation. Which is something that I can’t help but wonder about. Zoom

Judge Orders Defendant to Decrypt Laptop | Threat Level | Wired.com.

So that all is clear: this ruling means that your right to not incriminate yourself doesn’t protect you from having to unencrypt your laptop, but it does protect you from having the fact that you DID unencrypt it used against you.

This case, notably, isn’t about whether or not the police can force you to unencrypt your laptop as part of a search, i.e. your 4th Amendment rights in this situation. Which is something that I can’t help but wonder about.

Quote 68
Notes
Posted 1 year ago
Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort.

Calif. same-sex marriage ban ruled unconstitutional - The Washington Post.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. The ruling is super specific, so it’ll be interesting to see what effect it will have long-term and outside of California. But it’s good to have an appellate court putting this kind of thing in the official reporter of decisions.

Link 41
Notes
Posted 1 year ago

Silly People, Books Are For Reading. Copyfight: the politics of IP

An interesting case that’s attacking the first sale doctrine from a weird angle. It’s hard to imagine a world in which any books printed overseas cannot ever be resold without the printer’s permission. Bookstores couldn’t really exist in that kind of a system.

Quote 37
Notes
Posted 1 year ago
Hotfile claims that Warner removed hundreds of files wrongfully. For example, when the studio removed pirated copies of the its movie “The Box,” it also deleted a BBC production titled “The Box that Saved Britain” and several files related to an alternative health book, “Cancer: Out Of The Box,” by Ty M. Bollinger. Hotfile alleges that this demonstrates a pattern of abuse of the copyright enforcement tool and a violation of its terms with the studio.

Filesharing service sues Warner Bros. for copyright fraud | MacNN.

Maybe this will establish a mechanism for fighting back against companies that use the DMCA to have fair use works pulled from the internet. There needs to be a re-balance between the rights associated with fair use and the rights protected by copyright law. This might be a step in that direction!

Photo 11
Notes
Posted 1 year ago
“MP3tunes’ online storage system utilizes automatic and passive software to play back content stored at the direction of users. That is precisely the type of system protected by the DMCA safe harbor.” (via Judge OKs Unlicensed Cloud Music-Storage Service | Threat Level | Wired.com). Kind of an important decision. The strength of the DMCA’s safe harbors will determine the amount of innovation possible for the future of the internet, especially in light of the increasing reliance on cloud storage to make this work.

“MP3tunes’ online storage system utilizes automatic and passive software to play back content stored at the direction of users. That is precisely the type of system protected by the DMCA safe harbor.” (via Judge OKs Unlicensed Cloud Music-Storage Service | Threat Level | Wired.com).

Kind of an important decision. The strength of the DMCA’s safe harbors will determine the amount of innovation possible for the future of the internet, especially in light of the increasing reliance on cloud storage to make this work.

Quote 18
Notes
Posted 1 year ago
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco concluded that Bagdasarian’s statements were “particularly repugnant” because they directly encourage violence. “We nevertheless hold that neither of them constitutes an offense within the meaning of the threat statute under which Bagdasarian was convicted,” the appeals court wrote.

Urging Obama’s Assassination Is Lawful Online Speech, Divided Appeals Court Says | Threat Level | Wired.com.

Note that they did not hold that this speech was constitutional and couldn’t be limited. They held that the law, as written, didn’t apply to what the defendant said. The decision implies that a law written to ACTUALLY apply to the threats the defendant made WOULD be constitutional. Just worth remembering, I think.

Photo 3
Notes
Posted 1 year ago
Collecting DNA From Arrestees Is Unconstitutional, California Court Says. I’m particularly interested in the fact that federal courts have indicated that this is probably constitutional, but state courts are certainly allowed to extend constitutional protections. I guess I just find that interesting because it’d be hard to make the argument that this kind of DNA collection is a violation of civil liberties. California just happens to not like it. It’s a different version of this conversation than they one that we usually have.

Collecting DNA From Arrestees Is Unconstitutional, California Court Says.

I’m particularly interested in the fact that federal courts have indicated that this is probably constitutional, but state courts are certainly allowed to extend constitutional protections.

I guess I just find that interesting because it’d be hard to make the argument that this kind of DNA collection is a violation of civil liberties. California just happens to not like it. It’s a different version of this conversation than they one that we usually have.

Link 28
Notes
Posted 1 year ago

DOJ: We can force you to decrypt that laptop | Privacy Inc. - CNET News

The prosecution is trying to make themselves look a little better by saying that they don’t actually demand the password, only that the accused type it in. By my reckoning, demanding that someone unencrypt their computer for you is certainly just as much self-incrimination as having them tell you their password. We’ll see how this case shakes down.

Photo 19
Notes
Posted 1 year ago
BBC News - Lucas loses Star Wars copyright case at Supreme Court. Does this ruling seem correct to you? I actually kind of find it troubling that something creative and used in the creative endeavor of filmmaking does not get protection as a creative work. Though maybe the reason this feels ok is that the original designer of the props is the one getting to keep his rights in this case. This case seems to also stand for the proposition that third parties can make replica armor without owing the creator of “Star Wars” OR the creator of the original outfit anything. That seems more problematic.

BBC News - Lucas loses Star Wars copyright case at Supreme Court.

Does this ruling seem correct to you? I actually kind of find it troubling that something creative and used in the creative endeavor of filmmaking does not get protection as a creative work.

Though maybe the reason this feels ok is that the original designer of the props is the one getting to keep his rights in this case. This case seems to also stand for the proposition that third parties can make replica armor without owing the creator of “Star Wars” OR the creator of the original outfit anything. That seems more problematic.

Link 16
Notes
Posted 1 year ago

Copyright concerns for "Wizard of Oz" prequel

infoneer-pulse:

When you think about Dorothy’s slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” are they silver or ruby? How about the Wicked Witch … what color is she? What kind of dog is Toto?

Your answers to these questions are probably based on the 1939 MGM (now Warner Bros.) classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” and not the 1900 fairy tale “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” And unfortunately, this could mean trouble for Sam Raimi and James Franco’s new star-studded project, “Oz, the Great and Powerful,” according to a new ruling set by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

» via Salon

This seems like the right decision, considering how copyright works. What makes it a bad decision is merely the LENGTH of copyright protection. I intend to flesh this argument out in a real blog post soon…

via infoneer-pulse