[Seth-Trips] 321 Studios hearing, Thursday, N.D.Cal. [wild@eff.org: [E-S] EFF: San Francisco Court Considers Legality of Backup DVD Copies, Electronic Frontier Foundation Backs Up 321 Studios Software]

[Seth David Schoen]

I previously announced this for its original date and time, but it's
been rescheduled repeatedly.

----- Forwarded message from Will Doherty <wild at eff.org> -----

Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 09:51:21 -0700
From: Will Doherty <wild at eff.org>
Subject: [E-S] EFF: San Francisco Court Considers Legality of Backup DVD
	Copies, Electronic Frontier Foundation Backs Up 321 Studios Software

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Advisory

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 13, 2003


Contact:

Wendy Seltzer
  Staff Attorney
  Electronic Frontier Foundation
  wendy at eff.org
  +1 415 436-9333 x125 (office), +1 914 374-0613 (cell)


San Francisco Court Considers Legality of Backup DVD Copies

Electronic Frontier Foundation Backs Up 321 Studios Software

San Francisco - On Thursday, May 15, a federal court will
consider the legality of software that enables backup
copying of digital video disks (DVDs).

Judge Illston of the Northern District of California Federal
Court in San Francisco will hear arguments on a case
involving 321 Studios' DVD backup software. 321 Studios
opposes a summary judgment motion from movie studios
claiming that the DVD backup software software is unlawful
under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Championing the public's rights to use and innovate with
media, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a
friend-of-the-court brief supporting 321 Studios'
constitutional challenge to the DMCA. EFF, along with
co-signers Public Knowledge and Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility, argues that tools such as 321's DVD
X-Copy, which enables a user to make a personal backup copy
or excerpt of a DVD, must be lawful because they are
necessary to the public's fair use of digital media.

The movie studios on the other side of the 321 Studios
lawsuit claim that DVD X-Copy -- and any hardware or
software tools that would allow viewers to back up or
extract snippets from DVDs -- is an unlawful circumvention
device.

However, many people use DVD X-Copy for other purposes than
copyright circumvention. Videographers are duplicating their
work, professors are preparing classroom examples, and
parents are creating backups for their children using DVD
X-Copy and similar tools.

"The public should benefit from new media technologies, not
find its rights further restricted when new formats are
used," said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer. "Software that
enables the exercise of fair use rights, from any media, is
an important part of the copyright balance."

321 Studios filed suit on April 23, 2002, against MGM
Studios, Tristar Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures
Entertainment, Time Warner Entertainment, Disney
Enterprises, Universal City Studios, The Saul Zaentz
Company, and Pixar Corporation. All of the major motion
picture production companies except Sony Pictures
Entertainment and Pixar Corporation filed a counterclaim on
December 19, 2002.

The EFF amicus brief builds on public frustration expressed
in comments to the Copyright Office's recent
anticircumvention rulemaking. EFF helped 242 people document
the harm they have experienced from technologically
restricted CDs and DVDs.

The Northern District of California court, San Francisco
Division, 450 Golden Gate Ave., will hear the case at 9:00 am
on May 15, 2003.

For this advisory:
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/20030513_321_studios_pr.php

EFF brief in 321 Studios case:
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/20030314_321_studios_brief.php

More information in MGM v. 321 Studios:
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/MGM_v_321Studios/


About EFF:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at
http://www.eff.org/

                           -end-






----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
Seth David Schoen <schoen at loyalty.org> | Very frankly, I am opposed to people
     http://www.loyalty.org/~schoen/   | being programmed by others.
     http://vitanuova.loyalty.org/     |     -- Fred Rogers (1928-2003),
                                       |        464 U.S. 417, 445 (1984)