Re: In The News/Penn State

["Intellectual Property Virtual Scholar" <ipscholar@xxxxxxxx>]

Here is another news item about the students at Penn State and the 
disconnection of their Internet services:

http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030422pennstate0422p5.asp

It is nearly identical to the verion Olga circulated in an earlier 
message.

The upshot: A major university is acting aggressively in reaction to 
notices of infringement received from copyright owners.  The notice-and-
takedown provisions (Section 512) that were part of the DMCA created an 
opportunity for owners to make their formal claims to service 
providers.  The providers need to "expeditiously" remove or "disable 
access" to the material in order to have the protection from liability 
that the law offers.  We can see from the Penn State example that a 
service provider is likely simply to disable the user's connection to 
the network entirely in order to "disable access."  Consequently, the 
user loses all access--even all clearly lawful uses.  According to the 
news item, the students will regain access when any infringements are 
removed.

The statute is filled with nuance, procedures, and protections, but the 
practical reality is that we will often see it implemented with the 
delicacy of a sledge hammer.

Kenny Crews
http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/cip/ip_scholar_crews.html