EFF Fighting To Protect Anonymity Of Video Publishers
Oct 31st, 2006 | By James Lewin | Category: Citizen Media, Digital Video Downloads, Video, Video Podcasts, VlogsThe Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is fighting a self-help group’s subpoenas that seek to identify anonymous users of several video sharing sites.
According to EFF, San Francisco-based Landmark Education, known for its Landmark Forum motivational workshops, is trying to suppress an investigative television news piece critical of its methods. Citing alleged copyright violation, Landmark subpoenaed three websites hosting the video — the Internet Archive, Google Video, and YouTube — seeking the identities of the anonymous uploaders.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows a content owner to issue a subpoena for the identity of an alleged infringer without first filing an actual lawsuit.
“Sharing videos on the web is the latest example of free speech flowering on the Internet,” said Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. “Unfortunately, it is being met by a simultaneous rise in the use of baseless legal claims as an excuse to pierce anonymity and chill speech. This kind of intimidation has to stop.”
For EFF’s objection to the Internet Archive subpoena:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/landmark/eff_letter.pdf
via VPN
LANDMARK EDUCATION TAKES ACTION
AGAINST COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Landmark Education, an international training and development company, has been the subject of an unfounded allegation regarding its recent actions to deal with infringement of its copyrighted material included on a video that was posted on several Internet sites. The video included portions of our program, the Landmark Forum, which portions were taped without authorization by a person who was in the program under a false name. Upon learning that the video was posted on several web sites, we availed ourselves of the rights provided under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) to request the identity of the people who posted this video. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) challenged our actions and alleged to the press that our copyright claims were bogus, which statement was then disseminated on the Internet.
While we appreciate the work of the EFF, the allegation that our copyright claim is bogus is entirely inaccurate. The facts are clear that the Landmark Forum program has for many years been copyrighted. A formal copyright registration was issued by the U.S. Copyright Office and, under the Berne Convention, this U.S. copyright registration is effective in almost all of the countries around the world. Materials covered by this copyright registration were included throughout the video.
Landmark Education did not take the actions under the DMCA to suppress free speech. In fact, one of our core principles is our commitment to empowering people’s full self–expression. Rather, we took these actions solely to protect our copyrighted material, which is the principal source of our business operations. While freedom of speech on the Internet is essential, it is also vital that copyrighted materials be protected.
Founded in 1991, Landmark Education has had nearly 1 million people participate in its programs in over 20 countries worldwide.