IP: ACM Submits Declaration in Felten v. RIAA

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> August 13, 2001                                         (202) 659-9711
> ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTING MACHINERY (ACM) FILES DECLARATION IN LAWSUIT
> CHALLENGING THE DMCA
>
> ìACM Seeks to Help the Court Understand the DMCAís Chilling Effect on
> Analysis, Research, and Publicationî
> New York, August 13, 2001  The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) 
> filed a declaration in federal court today regarding the legal challenge 
> to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the Felten v. RIAA lawsuit.
>
> The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of 
> New Jersey by a number of computing researchers.  Led by Princeton 
> University computer scientist Edward Felten, the plaintiffs are asking the 
> court to rule portions of the DMCA unconstitutional, arguing that its 
> broad prohibitions on disseminating information and technology restrict 
> speech protected by the First Amendment.
>
> As a leading society of 75,000 computer scientists, educators, and other 
> professionals, ACM has filed a declaration in support of Professor Felten 
> and the other plaintiffs to help the court understand the practical effect 
> of the issues at stake in this case.
>
> ìIt is imperative for the court to understand that the application of any 
> law that may limit the freedom to publish research on computer technology 
> will impose a cost on the academic community, the process of scientific 
> discourse, and society in general,î stated Dr. John R. White, ACMís 
> Executive Director. ìWe believe the threat of litigation under the DMCA 
> will have a profound chilling effect on analysis, research, and publication.î
>
> Founded in 1947, ACMís mission is to advance the open interchange of 
> information concerning computing and related disciplines.  To further its 
> mission, ACM is a leading publisher of scientific information and sponsors 
> over 80 professional computing conferences each year. ACM is also 
> concerned that, in addition to harming the progress of research, the risk 
> of legal liability under the DMCA threatens the ACMís publication and 
> sponsorship of professional computing conferences that might include 
> scientific papers assessing the strengths and weaknesses of computer and 
> data security measures.
>
> Noting that ACM has earned a respected reputation for choosing strong 
> scientific papers for its conferences and publications without regard to 
> political or commercial pressure, White concluded, ìACM could adopt a 
> policy of steering clear of scientific papers that could subject us to 
> liability under the DMCA, but that could only be done at a risk of 
> sacrificing our mission and damaging our reputation as a scientific society.î
>
> To review a copy of ACMís declaration, see www.acm.org/felten. The USACM, 
> ACM's Committee on U.S. Public Policy, has been concerned about the impact 
> of the DMCA on research and speech for some time.  Additional information 
> about USACM may be found at www.acm.org/usacm/.



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