RIAA-fighting Maine Law Professor Speaks Out

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In an interview with Jon Newton of p2pnet, Prof. Deirdre Smith of the University of Maine says that 'our students are enthusiastic about being directly connected to a case with a national scope and significance'. The UM Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic is the first law school legal clinic in the U.S. to have taken on the RIAA, to have the opportunity for hands-on experience fighting the RIAA's effort to rewrite copyright law. Smith went on to say that the case is probably one of the first intellectual property cases the clinic has ever taken on, and that if it proceeds further, she expects to also 'draw on the considerable expertise in IP among members of our faculty and the Maine Center for Law and Innovation, another program of the Law School'. "

Comments

This professor is clearly a terrorist.

[davester666]

He is clearly trying to strike a blow and trying to destroy the very foundation of our society, which is intellectual property. And if he is successful at undermining that, in any way, he'll attack physical property. And using brainwashed law students to help him do it, thus also destroying our future. This man has no shame!

Re:This professor is clearly a terrorist.

[memfrob]

This is slashdot. Be happy the GP read the TITLE.

Re:RIAA fighting professor?

[Anonymous Coward]

It is because they hate children. The thought of happy children listening to their wonderful DRMed music just drives these professors mad.

Re:RIAA/MPAA - is the bad press worth it?

[Dr_Art]

When did it become up to people to pay what they feel like paying? It's always been that way. If you want free, you listen to the artists on the radio. If you want to pay a $1/song, you buy from iTunes or similar service. If you want to pay $9,250/song, you get sued by the RIAA and lose. :-(

Regards,
Art

Re:Nah, not so much.

[NewYorkCountryLawyer]

The public good appears to be his motive, not a financial one. You mean I can't get rich defending poor and working class people being sued by multibillion dollar cartels? Why didn't you tell me that sooner? Dammit. Why couldn't I figure that out?

Re:Nah, not so much.

[Weaselmancer]

All those law courses and no time to take a single economics class?

Well, that'll teach you. =)

Re:RIAA/MPAA - is the bad press worth it?

[Adambomb]

The right to waive U.S. copyright isn't even as significant as, say, a letter of marque. God damn them all, I was told we'd leech the seeds for american gold
we'd fire no guns, shed no teeeaaars
Now i'm an embargoed shell of an antiguan peer, the last of beckermans priivaateeers