Blog

This spring, the Cyberlaw Clinic is returning to the eighth triennial rulemaking proceeding under 17 U.S.C. 1201, which considers exemptions to the anti-circumvention provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Section 1201 of the DMCA outlaws the circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs) that prevent the unauthorized copying of digital materials. The blanket ban on TPM circumvention, however, applies regardless of whether the underlying use of materials is infringing or fair. Therefore, every three years the Copyright Office holds hearings to determine appropriate exemptions to 1201 restrictions, and make a recommendation to the Librarian of Congress, who ultimately decides which uses are exempted from 1201. This year, the Cyberlaw Clinic, on behalf of the Software Preservation Network and Library Copyright Alliance, seeks to expand the exempted uses to allow eligible memory institutions to access out-of-commerce software and video games remotely for qualifying preservation, research, and teaching purposes.   →

A recent decision by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division held that the proprietary source code underlying DNA analysis software TrueAllele may be examined by an independent expert in advance of a hearing on admissibility.  The opinion aligns with the position advocated by the Clinic in its October amicus brief on behalf of Upturn, Inc., a DC-based nonprofit organization promoting technology equity. The decision is a victory for defendants’ rights and due process in a developing area of criminal law.   →

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit handed down a major victory for government transparency in Center for Investigative Reporting v. DOJ (pdf). An amicus brief authored by Cyberlaw Clinic students and staff on behalf of news media organizations and data journalists was cited throughout the court’s decision and has had a major influence on how the court interpreted the Freedom of Information Act.

→

The Cyberlaw Clinic filed an amicus brief [.pdf] last week in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Engine Advocacy, supporting a petition for certiorari in a case that concerns the patent law doctrine of assignor estoppel. A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided the case — Minerva v. Hologic (Supreme Court Case No. 20-440) — and adopted an expansive view of the doctrine. Engine is an advocacy organization that represents the interests of startups, and the brief expresses concerns about the ways in which assignor estoppel can stifle innovation and limit employee mobility.  →

On October 13, the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic (“HIRC”) submitted a public comment drafted by the Cyberlaw Clinic regarding a rule proposed by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). The proposed rule would greatly expand DHS and USCIS’s authority to collect biometric data from immigrants, foreign nationals, permanent residents, and citizens involved in the immigration process by making biometric collection mandatory rather than discretionary. It would also expand the types of biometrics to include palm prints, iris scans, and voice prints. Finally, it would remove current biometric exemptions for minors under age fourteen and weaken protections for asylum seekers under the Violence Against Women Act.

→

On October 9, the Cyberlaw Clinic filed litigation under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) on behalf of client Martin Pfeiffer. Mr. Pfeiffer is a PhD student at the University of New Mexico whose work focuses on nuclear semiotics, information management, secrecy, and history. In January 2020, the Clinic assisted him in filing FOIA requests with the National Nuclear Security Administration (“NNSA”). Relying on Mr. Pfeiffer’s active online presence and long history of publications, talks, and podcast appearances, the Clinic asked that he be classified as an educational or news media requester for fee purposes.

→