The US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed a
lawsuit on behalf of a Princeton University professor, Edward
Felten, against the Recording Industry Association of America, the
Secure Digital Music Foundation, Verance, and the US Attorney
General. The suit claims the right of Mr Felten to publish aspects
of his research into digital security, and challenges the
constitutionality of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Mr Felten’s research grew out of an industry challenge to break
security technologies issued by the Secure Digital Music
Initiative, a group of music, telecommunications and consumer
electronics companies. His team managed to disable five out of six
electronic signatures, including a digital watermarking technology
owned by Verance. He wants to present his findings at a conference
in August.
The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it illegal in
the US to offer ways to circumnavigate technology designed to
protect copyrighted works. Mr Felten argues that this law is
against the Constitutional right to freedom of speech. He wants to
stop the possibility of researchers being liable to criminal
prosecutions if they discuss such technology and its
weaknesses.
The RIAA previously warned Mr Felten that he could be subject to
enforcement actions under federal law upon an attempt in April to
publish the research. However, industry officials later said they
had no intention to sue.
The RIAA has again reiterated that promise, and is quoted by
Law.com as calling Mr Felten’s decision to sue “inexplicable”.
