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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (11567)	10/9/2003 8:08:28 PM
From: KyrosL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793795

Arnold made a mistake Why? Arnold is not Jeb's competitor.

To: JohnM who wrote (11567)	10/9/2003 8:52:11 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793795

Volokh discusses a couple of legal issues that are interesting. ___________________________ [Eugene Volokh, 6:37 PM] "Why does the gun industry deserve special protection?" asked Dennis Henigan, legal director of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, about the bill that would limit gun manufacturer tort liability, which it seems, might be enacted by Congress. Because the gun industry is under special attack. If when someone drunk on Coors crashes his Mustang into me, I were able to successfully sue Coors and Ford for selling their products knowing that they cause death, or for recklessly and wantonly refusing to (for instance) install breathalyzer ignition overrides that would (maybe) help prevent drunk driving, then I'd see the bill as being about "special protection" (though then I'd just want it broadened to cars and alcohol, too). But right now, the bill is simply aimed at making sure that the tort liability system treats guns like other lawful but dangerous products. [Eugene Volokh, 6:24 PM] Crime-facilitating speech: Just as I'm finishing up the very first, extremely rough draft of my Crime-Facilitating Speech paper (a category which would cover any speech that helps some listeners commit crimes, torts, or acts of war), this story hits: John "Alex" Halderman, a Princeton University Ph.D. student, posted an analysis of the MediaMax CD3 Copy-Prevention System which revealed that if you load a protected CD for the first time with Windows' Autorun feature disabled (which can be done on a per use basis by pressing the shift-key), you can freely copy the music on the CD. Halderman also revealed the everyday, built-in Windows setting that easily disables the protection program. CNet reports that SunnComm, the maker of MediaMax CD3 Copy-Protection System, is threatening to sue Halderman on multiple grounds: SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs said the company plans legal action and is considering both criminal and civil suits. He said it may charge the student with maligning the company's reputation and, possibly, with violating copyright law that bans the distribution of tools for breaking through digital piracy safeguards. . . . Jacobs said SunnComm's attorneys would refer the case to local federal authorities, who could make the decision on how to proceed on the DMCA issue. He said the company was also exploring a civil suit based on damage to the company's reputation, since Halderman concluded that the technology was ineffective without knowing about future enhancements. . . . The damage to SunnComm's reputation, while not necessarily permanent, was quickly seen in a drop in its market value, totaling close to $10 million over several days, Jacobs said. No final decisions about legal action have been made, he added. So, you create copy protection that won't work in all situations (on my computer for instance because I have autorun disabled), and you sue the guy who calls you on it. I'm not sure whether the student's actions do indeed violate the DMCA, but I'm pretty sure that they must be protected by the First Amendment (unless his statements are knowingly false -- or at least negligently false, though I suspect that this won't be enough -- which would be the only grounds on which a suit for "maligning the company's reputation" whould prevail). Read for yourself the CNET news.com story that the above post cites, and the student's paper (Princeton University Computer Science Technical Report TR-679-03). In any event, crime-facilitating speech litigation seems to be a growth area; I'm glad to be writing about it, or to be precise I'll be glad to have written about it. volokh.com