[free-sklyarov] The American Association of Publishers issues a press release

Doug Lay douglay at relicorp.com
Sun Jul 22 18:48:31 PDT 2001


Excellent idea!

I notice that the Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE are also
listed as AAP members.

-Doug

----- Original Message -----
From: <fegray at uiuc.edu>
To: <free-sklyarov at zork.net>
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2001 2:02 PM
Subject: Re: [free-sklyarov] The American Association of Publishers issues a
press release


> Hi, folks,
>
> It's worth noting that many major universities have a publishing arm,
> and many of them are members of the American Association of Publishers.
This
> is the organization that issued a news release in support of the charges
> against Dmitry Sklyarov.
>
> For those of you who are still associated with a university, you can look
up
> your institution in the AAP's membership list:
>
> http://www.publishers.org/home/abouta/members.htm
>
> If they are there, I would suggest that you try to contact the relevant
people
> on your campus to discuss the issue with them.  I have appended the
message
> that I just sent to the designated contact person at the U of I Press...
>
> Thanks,
>
> -- Fred Gray
>
> *** FREE DMITRY SKLYAROV *** http://www.freesklyarov.org ***
>
> Paul,
>
> I am writing to you in your capacity as Electronic Publisher at the
> U of I Press.  I am a graduate student in the physics department at UIUC,
and
> I am extremely concerned about a recent news release by the American
> Association of Publishers (AAP), of which the U of I Press is a member.
It is
> currently available online at
>
> http://www.publishers.org/home/press/index.htm
>
> This news release applauds the actions of the U.S. government in arresting
> and charging Dmitry Sklyarov under the criminal provisions of the Digital
> Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
>
> On the contrary, an academic publisher should be OUTRAGED by these
charges.
>
> Dmitry Sklyarov is charged with writing a program which allows the
original
> purchaser of an eBook to convert it into the more readily useful PDF file
> format.  In this format, it is possible for the customer to move the file
from
> one computer to another, to make backup copies, to print it, and to copy
short
> excerpts from it.  These operations all constitute non-infringing fair use
of
> the copyrighted work, and there is nothing illegal about them.  However,
the
> DMCA criminalizes the creation and distribution of this software tool
itself,
> labeling it a "circumvention device."  This is true even though there is
no
> evidence that it has ever been used to make even one infringing copy of a
> copyrighted work.  The DMCA nullifies the public's fair use rights by
> prohibiting any mechanism that would allow them to be exercised.
>
> Computer programs are also a form of speech; they have been found by the
courts
> to be entitled to at least as much First Amendment protection as other
> "functional" expression.  The DMCA declares a particular class of programs
> ("circumvention devices") to be unlawful.  This is nearly equivalent to
banning
> all books on a particular subject (picking locks, for example), and it
seems
> reasonable to hope that the DMCA will be found on this basis to be
> unconstitutional.
>
> I found the following gem on the U of I Press web site:
>
>    The University of Illinois Press has made a commitment to poetry in a
>    time when most publishing decisions are made according to the bottom
line.
>    We can't measure such a commitment in financial terms, however. It is
>    important that we publish poetry, so we do.
>
> Similarly, support of academic publishers for freedom of expression and
fair
> use rights probably cannot be justified in terms of the current bottom
line.
> However, these rights are important, so publishers should support them.
> You should make it clear to the AAP and to the community that the position
> articulated in the AAP news release does not represent the opinion of the
> U of I Press.
>
> Would you please forward this message to those within the U of I Press who
> might be interested?  Also, I would like to schedule an appointment with
the
> appropriate people in your organization to discuss this issue in person.
> Would you refer me to the individuals whom I should contact?
>
> Thank you very much for your concern,
>
> -- Fred Gray
>
> *** FREE DMITRY SKLYAROV *** http://www.freesklyarov.org ***
>
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> free-sklyarov at zork.net
> http://zork.net/mailman/listinfo/free-sklyarov
>





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