Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
The 2002 Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy begins today and runs
through Friday, April 19 in San Francisco (http://www.cfp2002.org). Several
members of the WELL are attending this important annual conference. Bruce
Umbaugh of Webster University (St. Louis, MO) has agreed to coordinate ongoing
reports and discussion here in Inkwell.vue. Inkwell host and technoculture
maven Jon Lebkowsky will join Bruce (and hopefully many others) from offsite
to discuss the CFP sessions as well as the goings-on in the hallways (always
the best part of any conference!)
  

    

Authors Bruce Sterling and Wendy Grossman, whose books were discussed here
in inkwell.vue, are also already there I hear.
  

    

Wendy is here -- I saw her on the second floor conference area but
didn't say hi (so I'll do it here!). :) Haven't seen Bruce yet. Folks
may not show up until this evening or later in the week if they're not
interested in the tutorials, of course.
  

    
I did not see Declan.  Possibly you were not wearing The Hat.

The Fair Use by Design workshop has so far been rather interesting -- good
mix of speakers with a variety of horses to beat.  At this point, we're up
to discussing what drm systems can and can't do.  The most interesting
speaker for me has been Intertrust's Nic Garnett, who worked with Hilary
Rosen via his job at IPI, and who thinks that the really big issue is who
runs the system and who sets the baqr for what drm might incorporate
(congress, technology producers, WIPO).  Fred von Lohmann from EFF argued
that muddiness in the law is a good thing, because the ambiguity allows
flexibility...on the other hand someone named Wendy who isn't me and is
involved with the EFF's chilling effects project (I think it's
http://www.chillingeffects.org) to collect examples of lawyers' cease and
desist letters argues that the ambiguities leave people confused and
therefore unwilling to arguye back for their rights because they don't know
what they are and can't affored a lawyer to tell or defend them.

seen so far:  Dave Banisar, Bruce Umbaugh, Mike Godwin, Bruce Sterling,
Karen Coyle (my host for the week).

wg
  

    
Wendy NOTW must be Wendy Seltzer, per here:
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html>
  

    
Thanks, Wendy! Have you seen anything on the program that you consider a 
must-attend?
  

    
I'm here!

I look like this:

http://www.craphound.com/images/doctorow2.jpg

I'm gonna have to blow out soon-ish, to fly to LA and crash an MPAA working-
group meeting (see http://bpdg.blogs.eff.org -- the same people who designed
the can't-skip-commercials features in DVDs are trying to set legally
mandated standards for all digital video tech, including your computer!).

But say Hi if you're around.
  

    
If I see you, I will.  Meantime, send your notes on the working group's
discussion.

Actually, the thing I was interested in was the fair use tutorial, which is
all day today.  It's a good mix of speakers:  Microsoft, Intertrust, a
librarian or two, EFF, some Europeans.  Plus, it's a topic that hasn't had
much play at CFP, compared to most others.

And yes, it is Wendy Seltzer.  I managed to spot her badge a little while
ago.  Have also now seen Jerry Berman, Ari Schwartz (this year's chairman).
Still no sign of bkoball, but Simon Davies, Gus Hosein, Ian Brown, and
Caspar Bowden (privacy international and FIPR, http://www.fipr.org) have all
been sighted in the halls.  Also Barbara Simons.  Simon D looks, for the
first time since I've known him, actually TIRED to the point of frydom.

wg
  

    
doctorow and I have now spotted each other -- we are at opposite sides in
the backroow, attached to the only two electrical outlets in the room)

wg
  

    
cool... maybe I should be pimping power strips there tomorrow?
  

    
The current speaker (Frederick Van Something?) is talking about the current
"SDMI-encrypted" CDs in the marketplace.

Except the CDs he's citing aren't SDMI-encrypted. They're wrapped un in a
variety of proprietary DRM schemes. SDMI is dead.

Good to see him mention the Celine Dion crashware disc -- I broke that story
on Boing Boing.
  

    
RIAA types insist that SDMI is not dead.

wg
  

    
That reminds me - is Ed Felten there, by chance? (He was threatened with a 
lawsuit if he presented his paper on SDMI... a year ago this month.) (And for 
those who don't know, SDMI is Secure Digital Music Initiative, the record 
industry's scheme for 'music protection.') (Singing...) "If I had a hammer..."
  

    
Yes:  he was moderator this am.  Looked like a skinny student in a black T-
shirt instea dot hte man of substance his web site makes him out to be.

wg
  

    
Sitting next to (bumbaugh) as it turns out.
  

    
I could have told you that.

wg
.,
  

    
The workshop has broken down somewhat while they are trying to work out what
parts of fair use they would like to see embedded in DRM -- what content
owners want and what users currently have, into a balancing act.  I long to
observe (though not enough to actually do it) that someone I was talking to
yesterday had decided she's not oing to buy CDs any more; instead she's
going to download as much free music as she can and send the artists a
check.

<doctorow> eventually located me, at the table next to his, and <bumbaugh>,
who was sitting right next to him.

wg
  

    
If I was there, I'd be wandering the halls talking to people. Have you done 
any of that? And is there anything happening tonight?
  

    

What's the story on the Celine Dion crashware disc, doctorow?
  

    
reception tonight.  also advisory board dinner (very late)
I haven't been talking in the halls that much.  It's tutorial day, so the
halls haven't been as full of people as they will be tomorrow.  I wanted to
listen to the fair use/technology stuff, anyway.  The hallees this afternoon
were Mike Godwin, plus the UK contingent, all of whom I feel I'm ikn pretty
good touch with year round.

Don Goldheimer, Lance Hoffman, both were around to say hello to, though.

Currently at the panel annou8ncing the readiness for prime time of p3p
(http://www.w3c.org).  Panel stars Lorrie Cranor, Ari Schwartz, and a bunch
of people whose names I didn't get (several Canadians for sure).  Much
discussion of whether Web sites will take advantage of p3p to trick users
into handing over their information.

wg
  

    
The Celine Dion story:
http://boingboing.net/2002_03_01_archive.html#75042925
  

    

Thanks!
  

    

The Politech dinner tonight was (I'm delighted to report) a terrific
success, with 65-70 people turning out for the event at Venture Frogs,
diagonally across the street from the hotel. A good mix, as you might
expect from the list dynamic, of technologists and policy folks.
  

    
What did they talk about, Declan?
  

    
Ed Felten may not look terribly menacing but just ask Microsoft!
He gave a great speech at Usenix 2000 about his expert witness testimony
in the big trial.


On another subject, I was interested recently to learn that DRM
technology basically came out of military IT development.  Somehow,
given the tenor of the times, it seems a propos.
  

    


wish I could get there, craigslist may have to take
legal measures against spammers.  Fortunately, last
night Cindy from EFF offered to help us make sure
we don't do collateral damage if we have to cite
"trespass to chattel" or copyright infringement.
(Might be interesting, though tough, choices.)

Craig