BROADBAND
Public Interest Groups File Petition Against FCC Cable Ruling
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Senegal Mixes Community And PCs
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Copyrights, Wrongs Get A Review
Debate on Intellectual Property
BROADBAND
PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS FILE PETITION AGAINST FCC CABLE RULING
A coalition of public interest groups, including the Center for Digital
Democracy and several consumer organizations, filed a brief last week in a
9th Circuit case challenging the FCC's classification of cable broadband as
an "information service." The Commission's ruling would allow cable
operators to exclude competition and set monopolistic prices. The brief,
submitted by the Media Access Project on behalf of the coalition, contends
that the FCC "went beyond its statutory authority by attempting to classify
Internet access as an information service without a common carriage
component." The case is Brand X Internet Services et al. v. Federal
Communications Commission and United States of America.
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
(http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/cableModemPetition.html)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
SENEGAL MIXES COMMUNITY AND PCS
Residents in Senegal are bettering their livelihood, improving their
businesses and maintaining contact with family and friends through
telecentres. The computer hubs are allowing residents to get online at
reasonable prices to search for information and even improve business
efficiencies - "Now we have the chance to bill people properly," says
Ibrahim Fall, a car mechanic who runs a repair shop near the telecentre. A
center located in the Al Baraka suburb of Dakar allows residents to not only
use a computer, but also gives them access to a telephone. Telephones are
very scarce in the suburbs and many midwives are taking advantage of
telephone access to obtain help and advice on difficult births. More and
more centers are springing up around Senegal, giving residents a new
opportunity to learn about technology and benefit from its access.
[SOURCE: BBC News]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2296993.stm)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
COPYRIGHTS, WRONGS GET A REVIEW
The United States Copyright Office will begin taking public comments on a
section of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The DMCA prohibits
people from breaking encryption technologies and protects movie and music
companies from having their information stolen and reproduced. Many
technologists, academics and consumer advocates feel the stature limits
research activities and revokes fair use rights. The rulemaking is supposed
to determine what circumvention activities are legal and public comments on
the act will be taken until December 18. Rebuttal comments will be then be
accepted until February 19, 2003. The new rulemaking process will end Oct.
28, 2003, when the librarian of Congress releases the list of circumvention
activities that are legal under the DMCA.
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Brad King]
(http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,55801,00.html)
DEBATE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
As the Supreme Court mulls the Eldred v. Ashcroft copyright extension case
and Congress considers forcing digital media manufacturers to prohibit
duplication in their devices, the rest of the world focuses on how relaxing
intellectual property laws might benefit developing nations. A report by the
Commission on Intellectual Property Rights recommends that the WTO's IP
treaty be made more flexible so that poorer nations can easily adopt them.
The author notes that while this proposal conflicts with the United State's
push toward more stringent copyright protection world-wide, the US might do
well to examine its own IP history, in which the fledgling nation used lax
IP protections to stimulate its economy. The Commission suggests that the
exemption given to poorer countries in need of H.I.V. medication two years
ago be extended to all areas of technology.
[SOURCE: The New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/14/technology/14NECO.html)
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