1. Amicus Curiae Filed in Cheney/FACA Case
2. Petition to Review Broadcast Flag
3. Federal Depository Library Meeting April 18-21
4. COPPA Information Collection Case Settled
5. Canadian Court's Copyright Ruling in Spotlight
6. DVD Backup Violates Copyright Act
7. French Ordinance can be Enacted with Internet only Publication
8. Freedom of Information Act Report
9. U.S. Publishers Split over Iranian Trade Embargo Ruling
10. Australian Libraries Caught in Copyright Changes
11. Australian Kazaa Raids
12. U.S. Senators and Spyware
13. Want to Win $10,000?
    
    

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Amicus Curiae Filed in Cheney/FACA Case
SLA and others have filed an Amicus Curiae (Friends of the Court) asking the U. S. Supreme Court to reject the government’s claim that it may conduct the public’s business in secret. This case concerns public access to information about the makeup of the National Energy Policy Development Group convened by Vice President Cheney in 2001. The case is important to preserving public access to government information under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). For more details on the Amicus Curiae and to read the entire brief, go to: http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/advocacy/otherinitatives.cfm

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Petition to Review Broadcast Flag
Several library/information groups, including SLA, and others, are challenging a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require consumer electronics and computer manufacturers to read and obey a “broadcast flag” signal embedded in new digital television signals.  Click here (http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/advocacy/otherinitatives.cfm) for more details on Broadcast Flag and to see the entire Petition to Review.

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Federal Depository Library Meeting April 18-21
The Spring 2004 Depository Library Council meeting will be held in St. Louis, MO, April 18-21. The afternoon session on Monday, April 19th, will be particularly important to all government information professionals.  Public Printer Bruce R. James will present "simple truths" about the current and future state of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and the Government Printing Office (GPO) that have been uncovered during the past year's fact-finding activities.  
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/tools/sp04coun.html#quick

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COPPA Information Collection Case Settled
UMG Recordings, Inc., and Bonzi Software, Inc., have each agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) (http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens.html) by knowingly collecting personal information from children online without first obtaining parental consent. The Bonzi Software case is the first COPPA case to challenge the information collection practices of an online service in connection with a software product. Previous FTC COPPA cases have addressed Web site operators' information collection practices. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/02/bonziumg.htm

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Canadian Court's Copyright Ruling in Spotlight
A Supreme Court of Canada ruling that the Law Society of Upper Canada did not violate the law by photocopying case material for attorneys has broader implications for other individuals and businesses that face copyright challenges, observers say.  For full story, go to: http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/
TPStory/LAC/20040308/PFRULING08/TPBusiness/General

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DVD Backup Violates Copyright Act
A California federal court sided with major motion picture studios in ruling that “321 Studios,” a company creating tools used to make backup copies of their DVDs,  is liable under copyright law. Citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the court ordered 321 Studios to stop selling its DVD Copy Plus and DVD-X COPY products. This is a consumer setback for digital rights.
http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/MGM_v_321Studios/
20040220_eff_pr.php

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French Ordinance can be Enacted with Internet only Publication
A new French ordinance radically changes the process of publication / proclamation of French acts and regulations, formerly organized by Napoleon’s Act of 1804. After June 1st, acts and regulations could be proclaimed and immediately enacted by their publication on the Internet.
http://www.servicedoc.info/article.php3?id_article=178

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Freedom of Information Act Report
The GAO (U.S. General Accounting Office) has released an update on the Freedom of Information Implementation. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04257.pdf

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U.S. Publishers Split over Iranian Trade Embargo Ruling
U.S. scientific publishers are divided in their response to the government's ruling that editing or publishing scientific manuscripts from Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Cuba violates the trade embargo on these countries.  For more details go to: http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction
=readNews&itemid=1241&language=1

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Australian Libraries Caught in Copyright Changes
In February, Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile completed an agreed text for the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement with his U.S. counterpart, Trade Representative Bob Zoellick. Librarians in Australia have warned that the free trade deal will lead to increases in copyright license fees paid by Australians for the use of intellectual property, including novels, poems, films, and songs. The 20-year extension of copyright terms brings Australia’s regulations in line with U.S. restrictions.
http://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/negotiations/us.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/02/10/1076388365432.html

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Australian Kazaa Raids
The Australian Federal Court has allowed music industry lawyers and investigators access to material seized in raids on  headquarters of Kazaa, producer of a popular Internet file-sharing application.  A petition by Kazaa owner Sharman Networks to have the civil search orders that permitted the February 6 raids stayed was dismissed.  It was ruled that major record companies should be allowed to examine documents and computer files taken in raids on Sharman's offices and the homes of several executives of the company.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/
0,7204,8866918^15319^^nbv^,00.html

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U.S. Senators and Spyware
Three U.S. Senators have introduced legislation designed to put an end to spyware, adware, and other invasive software being secretly installed on computers.  The SPYBLOCK (Software Principles Yielding Better Levels of Consumer Knowledge) Act would require a user's consent before software is installed and demand uninstall procedures for all downloadable software.
http://informationweek.securitypipeline.com/news/
18201952;jsessionid=H02PKX5JPFBW2QSNDBCSKHY\