INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Napster Ordered to Block Access to Songs (WP)
INTERNET
Report Opposes Internet Voting (NYT)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
NAPSTER ORDERED TO BLOCK ACCESS TO SONGS
Issue: Copyright
Napster said yesterday that it will try to comply with a court order to
block the trading of copyrighted songs, but was unsure whether it could
overcome some of the technical challenges of comprehensively identifying the
copyrighted songs. Napster officials pointed out that individuals have
different naming schemes: Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" can also be
listed as "Stairway 2 Heaven," for instance. The five major record companies
suing Napster had asked the court to require Napster to identify all
alternative listings, but the judge said Napster and the music industry
share responsibility on that measure. Napster chief executive Hank Barry
said in a prepared statement yesterday that the company will "take every
step within the limits of our system to exclude copyrighted material from
being shared." The record companies, meanwhile, have prepared long lists of
copyrighted songs for Napster. "What is likely to happen is that the
recording companies will blanket Napster with a very, very large number of
file names," said Peter Jaszi, a professor of copyright law at American
University. The Napster case is seen by many as a test of the industry's
ability to stop Internet users from trading copyrighted material around the
world without paying for it.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32654-2001Mar6.html)
INTERNET
REPORT OPPOSES INTERNET VOTING
Issue: Internet/Political Discourse
According to a report commissioned by the National Science Foundation,
voting through the Internet from home or the workplace should not be allowed
in the near future because significant questions remain about security,
reliability and social effects. "E-voting requires a much greater level of
security than e-commerce -- it's not like buying a book over the Internet,"
said C.D. Mote Jr., president of the University of Maryland and chairman of
the committee that studied the issue. "Remote Internet voting technology
will not be able to meet this standard for years to come." At least a dozen
states have legislation pending that request studies of Internet voting. The
Arizona Democratic Party held a primary last year that allowed Internet
voting both from home and from polling places.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Internet-Voting.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
INTERNET VOTING: A WEB OF INTRIGUE?
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A21), Ben White]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32292-2001Mar6.html)
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