SunnComm Technologies will not sue a Princeton grad student for issuing a Princeton University Computer Science Technical Report TR-679-03 that discloses a security flaw in SunnComm's software intended to block music piracy, according to the The Chronicle of Higher Education's Daily news for 10/13/2003. The company's stock lost value after the report of the student's disclosure, and it had threatened to sue under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). According to the Chronicle, the company's CEO said that "We feel that bringing legal action for damages against researchers in a higher-learning environment may contribute to a chilling effect on the type of research that faculty, staff, and students elect to pursue." (Read more ... )
(Editorial)
SunnComm chooses wisely when it steps back. The unbiased peer review of new security technologies is essential to the development of sound applications. Further, the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly protected academic freedom of universities under the First Amendment. Barring some overriding state interest or protectible property right, that freedom should include the right to study and publish factual information and opinion regarding the results of research by their students and faculty.
See eLawyer Blog: Reading: Schneier, Secrets & Lies (Digital Security in a Networked World), in which Schneier's strongly urges avoiding new or proprietary cryptography in favor of technologies and code algorithms that have been made public, analyzed and peer-tested for years by professionals.
See also Unintended Consequences: "Four Essential Freedoms" of a University Based in First Amendment, as re-affirmed in the June decisions regarding the University of Michigan.
Posted by dougsimpson at October 13, 2003 10:28 AM | TrackBack