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hack21.txt
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1998-03-25
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7KB
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125 lines
Piracy campaign revamped
By Alex Lash
November 6, 1996, 6 a.m. PT
One month after launching an aggressive campaign
to deter software piracy on the Internet, the
Software Publishers Association plans to revamp
the drive as early as next week because of
complaints about the association's methods.
The SPA's Internet Antipiracy Campaign is aimed
at Internet service providers whose users are
either posting illegally copied software or building
Web links that point to sites that offer such
software. The SPA, with over 500 members
including all the major software companies, is
asking ISPs to sign a code of conduct that makes
the ISP acknowledge responsibility for potential
copyright violations in its domain.
Such a stipulation goes against a basic tenet of
many providers, who will cooperate with the law
once approached with evidence of subscriber foul
play, but who consider themselves only the conduit
and not the creator of digital information. In other
words, they see themselves, much as telephone
companies do, as "common carriers." Therefore,
the ISPs say, they are not responsible for poring
over the content that passes through their systems.
"I'd have to have a whole department doing that
continually and set up extra servers," said David
Williams, vice president of operations at Whole
Earth Networks, a San Francisco-based ISP with
20,000 subscribers. "That's an unreasonable
burden to put on me, to be a police officer."
SPA officials say that they didn't make themselves
clear the first time around.
"We've not looking for them to appoint a full-time
person to go through their Web site," said Peter
Beruk, the association's director of domestic
antipiracy. "We didn't mean it that way. We're
revising that language and expect a revision of the
code of conduct to go up as early as next week."
Beruk said his organization wants to work with
ISPs on alternative methods of deterrence. One
idea, according to Beruk, is for ISPs to run a
"JavaScript message" across users' screens that
reminds them to obey copyright laws. Another
idea is to run keyword searches for words like
"wares," "crackers," and "hackers."
"Those are words that are generally indicative of
unauthorized transfer of material," said Beruk.
Online rights organizations contend that the SPA
has tried to coerce providers into signing the code
by threatening civil litigation, when in fact no clear
legal precedent for Internet copyright exists.
"The SPA is trying to be the judge, jury, and
executioner of these people," said Robert Costner,
director of Electronic Frontiers Georgia. "They're
pushing the law. Determining the law should be left
up to the legislature, not a trade organization."
In reaction to the SPA code of conduct, Costner
has published his own seven-point policy that he
says he has offered to the SPA as a working
model. The association has not responded.
Current U.S. copyright law was last revised in
1976, and a court has yet to set firm precedent
over the nature of copyrights in cyberspace. A
copyright case in which the Church of Scientology
sued Internet provider Netcom was settled out of
court this summer.
Another bone of contention is that the SPA's
campaign so far has focused not on actual pirated
material but on hyperlinks to such material. The
organization calls such references to unauthorized
software "contributory infringement," and
considers them indirect but nonetheless illegal
validations of copyright violation, especially when
the link is highlighted in a laudatory or encouraging
way.
Where the law stands in regard to hyperlinks will
probably have to be settled by another court case,
although the SPA feels current copyright law is
more than adequate ammunition.
But at least one provider isn't going to be swayed
by the SPA's exhortations. "We're not going to
have any reaction to their campaign," said Mike
McQuary, president and COO of MindSpring
Enterprises with 117,000 subscribers. "I
understand their position as a trade association,
but we're going to wait until we see good, clear
direction from a judicial authority."
In other copyright news, the Columbus Alive's
online news site has removed a photograph that
was allegedly posted without the permission of the
photographer, Ohio State University graduate
student Taehyun Kim. Kim told CNET that Alive
editor Sally McPhail notified him only after they
ran the photo in the October 22 print edition and
offered him payment. Kim refused permission but
was told that it was too late to remove the photo
from the paper. One week later, the AliveWired
Web site ran a second photo of Kim's, also taken
from his Web site without permission. McPhail
was not in the office yesterday. An assistant
confirmed that the photo had been removed but
would not otherwise comment. Kim has asked the
publication for monetary compensation and a
public letter of apology.
Copyright ⌐ 1996 CNET Inc. All rights reserved.