Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

ACM vs. RIAA

Posted by Hemos on from the battle-to-the-last dept.

stinkbomb writes "The venerable Association for Computing Machinery has posted a legal brief on it's site regarding Felten vs. RIAA. The ACM position is: 'ACM believes that the application of any law to limit the freedom to publish research on computer technology will impose a cost not only on ACM's members, but also on the academic community, the process of scientific discourse, and society in general.'"

4 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How much sway does the ACM have though? by h2odragon · · Score: 3, Insightful
    potentially lots.

    WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMEN. All the EFF has is money. The ACM has people who can reasonably explain whey they, as a voter, think the congresscritter needs to do something. Believe it or not, as idealistic as it sounds, enough people writing letters can still overcome large amounts of money in deals like this.

  2. um...hemos? by vergil · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Just a minor quibble, but did you intend to include a "Patent Pending" icon along w/ this story?


    Last time I checked, the RIAA was in the business of copyright enforcement.


    Perhaps /. should whip up a generic, catch-all Intellectual Property icon. Or, better yet, individual icons and sections to reflect the different facets of IP protection - patent, copyright, trademark, and sui generis (so-called one of a kind protections, like those covering databases in the EU).


    Sincerely,

    Vergil

    --
    Insects and Grafitti Photos
  3. Re:I'm sorry by guygee · · Score: 3, Insightful

    RIAA may have the money, but the ACM has a much greater degree of prestige and trust in the eyes of the public. Every computer science and computer engineering professor, and all of their students as well, will line up behind the the ACM against the RIAA as this conflict gains media exposure. The public will trust the scientists and college professors over the corrupt music industry moneyboys. Most politicians will be forced to fall in line. The key to this happening is that this conflict is brought to the forefront, in full view of the public, by every means possible - public protests, bumperstickers, letters to the editor, internet forums and mailing lists, word-of-mouth...

  4. Re:I'm sorry by RAGEAngel9 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The public is going to trust the smart people??
    Where the hell have you been for the last decade??
    No one EVER pays attention to the smart people. If they did the public would be smart themselves, but they aren't and so the RIAA grows and grows.

    Ain't life grand.