[free-sklyarov] Fwd:Reply from ACM : Dmitry Sklyarov, AAP, and ACM

Sreeni R. Nair snair at utstar.com
Thu Jul 26 15:06:36 PDT 2001


I got the following reply from ACM to my query regarding AAP's press 
statement. I feel proud and happy that I am an ACM member.



>Dear Sreeni,
>
>Thank you for your email.
>
>ACM has been very concerned the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.  During 
>consideration of H.R. 2281 - the DMCA - by the U.S. Congress in 1997, ACM 
>joined several other leading scientific professional societies in warning 
>that the anti-circumvention provisions of H.R.2281 could have substantial 
>negative impacts on the conduct of basic research.  By regulating 
>technologies rather than infringing behavior, we further cautioned that 
>the progress of research in cryptography and other computer security areas 
>could be significantly hindered by such legislation.  Although Congress 
>amended the legislation to include limited exceptions on circumvention for 
>encryption research, we pointed-out that the majority of computer security 
>research does not involve encryption.  In summary, ACM recommended that 
>the broad anti-circumvention provisions of the legislation be revised to 
>restrict only circumvention related to infringement.   Unfortunately, our 
>concerns with the anti-circumvention sections were not satisfactorily 
>addressed as Congress enacted the DMCA into law on October 28, 1998.
>
>In February of 2000, ACM submitted official comments during the U.S. 
>Copyright Office's consideration of exemptions from the prohibition of 
>circumvention in the DMCA.  In our submission, ACM urged that the DMCA's 
>criminal provisions apply to only those who circumvent technological 
>protection mechanisms with the intent to infringe. We recommended that the 
>anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA be revised to ensure the freedom 
>of scientists to bypass copy protection schemes for fair use purposes, 
>arguing scientists must be legally permitted to circumvent access 
>technologies in order to recognize shortcomings in security systems.  Once 
>again, ACM was disappointed when the U.S. government issued its rulemaking 
>on "Exemptions From Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures 
>that Control Access to Copyrighted Works" last October, as it did little 
>to bolster the fair-use applications we were seeking.  ACM's submission 
>can be found at our web site: http://www.acm.org/usacm/IP/dmca.exemption.htm
>
>Regarding the AAP's statements surrounding the arrest of a Russian 
>cryptographer for allegedly violating the anti-circumvention provisions of 
>the DMCA, the Public Policy Committee of the ACM has sent the following 
>letter to AAP:
>
>---------------------------
>
>July 26, 2001
>
>The Honorable Patricia S. Schroeder
>President & CEO
>Association of American Publishers
>50 F Street, N.W., 4th Floor
>Washington, D.C.  20001
>
>Dear Ms. Schroeder:
>
>As you know, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a member of 
>the Association of American Publishers (AAP).  As the Co-Chairs of the 
>U.S. Public Policy Committee of ACM, we are concerned by the APP statement 
>released on July 19, 2001, which hailed the U.S. Department of Justice's 
>recent arrest of a Russian cryptographer for allegedly violating the 
>anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act 
>(DMCA).  We would like for the AAP to be aware that ACM has consistently 
>opposed the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA.  In our view, the 
>overly-broad provisions impede the progress of research in cryptography 
>and other computer security areas by criminalizing technologies rather 
>than infringing behavior.
>
>ACM has been shifting its publication operations from paper-only to 
>electronic distribution and we understand the importance of reasonable 
>copyright protections.  However, as an educational and scientific 
>computing society comprised of computing professionals from all areas of 
>industry, academia, and government, ACM supports the freedom of computer 
>scientists to engage in research and exchange ideas and information 
>fundamental to the progress of innovation.  During consideration of the 
>DMCA by the U.S. Congress and the subsequent rulemaking process, ACM 
>recommended that the anti-circumvention provisions of the legislation be 
>revised to restrict only circumvention related to infringement.  We 
>further pointed-out other flaws of the Act, including:
>
>* failure to permit circumvention for "fair-use" purposes is inconsistent 
>with the fundamentals of copyright law and deters individuals from 
>conducting bona fide forms of science and technology research that is 
>fundamental to innovation;
>
>* exempting encryption research from the anti-circumvention provisions is 
>too limited as the majority of computer security research does not involve 
>encryption;
>
>* permitting reverse engineering for the sole purpose of interoperability 
>may criminalize development of software engineering tools and technology 
>with other uses; and,
>
>* anti-circumvention exemptions that permit circumvention to obtain 
>authorized access to a work are meaningless if access mechanisms and tools 
>cannot be used to do so.
>
>Unfortunately, our concerns were not satisfactorily addressed as the DMCA 
>was enacted or as the implementation rules were promulgated.  As a result, 
>scientists are increasingly finding themselves in a position where they 
>must consult attorneys to determine if their previously legitimate 
>research might be in violation of the DMCA.  In some instances, the threat 
>of legal action under the DMCA has deterred scientists from publishing or 
>even publicly discussing their research.  Certain foreign scientists and 
>international members of ACM have indicated they will not attend 
>conferences in the U.S. while the law is in force for fear of 
>reprisal.  Sadly, we believe the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA 
>have proven to have a real chilling effect on U.S. scientific and research 
>enterprise.
>
>While we recognize that the AAP works to protect the interests of book and 
>journal publishers by advocating strong copyright protection in digital 
>environments, we urge you to recognize the distinction between 
>circumvention for the purpose of obtaining unauthorized access to a work 
>and circumvention for the purpose of making a non-infringing use of a 
>work. Absent some clear criminal intent, scientists should not be 
>penalized for conducting research that is crucial to developing and 
>testing copyright protection systems.
>
>In light of your recent release indicating support for the 
>anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA, we respectfully inquire if the 
>AAP shares the concerns that ACM and other professional societies have 
>expressed regarding the Act's chilling effect on research and scientific 
>freedom?
>
>We look forward to your reply.  Please contact Jeff Grove, Director of the 
>ACM Public Policy Office at (202) 659-9711, if you have any questions or 
>wish to discuss our concerns.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Barbara Simons, Ph.D.
>Eugene H. Spafford, Ph.D.
>
>Co-Chairs
>U.S. ACM Public Policy Committee (USACM)
>Association for Computing Machinery
>
>-------------------------
>
>ACM will continue to work in support of the rights of computer 
>professionals to engage in critical research and to exchange ideas and 
>information fundamental to innovation.  There is still much to do.
>
>Regards,
>John White
>ACM CEO
>
>(Sent to you by Cynthia Ryan, Manager of the Member Services Department, 
>for John White.)
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Sreeni R. Nair [mailto:snair at utstar.com] 
> <mailto:[mailto:snair at utstar.com]>
> > Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2001 8:39 PM
> > To:   acmhelp at acm.org
> > Subject:      Dmitry Sklyarov, AAP, and ACM
> >
> >
> > As you may already be aware of, a Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov 
> was unfairly arrested by the FBI who used the provisions of the 
> abominable DMCA for the purpose.
> > As my understanding goes ACM has always been against DMCA 
> (http://www.acm.org/usacm/copyright/DMCA-release.html). But yesterday, 
> there was a press release from the Association of American Publishers 
> (http://www.publishers.org/home/press/index.htm>  ) that hailed the FBI 
> action. As a current ACM member, it disturbed me deeply to find ACM as 
> one of the member organizations of AAP. I would like to know whether ACM 
> intends to condone the stance taken by AAP. Since the above stance is 
> contrary to everything that I (and a lot of like-minded people) take ACM 
> to stand for, I urge ACM to issue a p> ress statement to distance itself 
> from the AAP> '> s position.








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