Re: Update of Kindle book removal

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
Date: July 18, 2009 9:29:04 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] Update of Kindle book removal

The phrase "putatively governed by a license" used by Prof. Zittrain  
caught my eye.

Perhaps we should start educating our children starting around 8th  
grade in the matter of "licenses".   I daresay that most humans do not  
think about licensing, terms, etc. in their daily lives.  When I buy a  
pair of shoes or hire a plumber, I don't negotiate a license.  Neither  
products nor services that are used by ordinary people are understood  
in terms of "Dick and Jane License a Right" as (is never) taught in  
every (any) school.

Consequently, everyday living is not a matter of license transactions,  
so companies that presume that their customers will understand the  
meaning of licensing are pretty much guilty of prima facie deception.

A customer who cannot understand the terms of a deal must be  
encouraged to consult a lawyer with appropriate expertise.  Otherwise,  
the seller is a con-artist. One function of government is to make sure  
that all parties to a contract understand the contract.


On 07/18/2009 08:05 PM, David Farber wrote:
>  one wonders whether or a libel suit successfully prosecuted in the  
> United Kingdom will eventually cause companies to reach around the  
> world to delete the offending statements. This is clearly  
> unacceptable. The rewriting of history does remind one of 1984.
>
> Dave
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Jonathan Zittrain <zittrain () law harvard edu>
> Date: July 18, 2009 12:12:55 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Update of Kindle book removal
>
> For IP, if you like --
>
> I've blogged about the situation at <http://futureoftheinternet.org/orwellian-indeed 
> >.  I think we'll see lots more cases like this as our products are  
> transformed into services -- the purchase of a book is no longer the  
> transfer of an object but the beginning of a long-term relationship  
> with a vendor, putatively governed by a license.
>
> Not only will regulators be tempted to require retraction of  
> contraband content -- acting directly, or through the mechanisms of  
> a court order arising from a lawsuit -- but the content need not be  
> an entire book, video, or song.  An offending passage could be  
> excised or altered if found to infringe copyright, defame someone,  
> or otherwise be illegal.  Libraries' copies would be similarly  
> affected -- and this is actually a natural outgrowth of the idea  
> that courts can issue injunctions, after a successful trial, against  
> offending material.
>
> The same is true of technologies.  In the ongoing case of TiVo v.  
> EchoStar, <http://yupnet.org/zittrain/archives/14#7>, EchoStar's  
> DVRs were found to be infringing TiVo's patents.  Not only did  
> EchoStar owe tens of millions of dollars to TiVo, but TiVo persuaded  
> the judge to order EchoStar to remotely kill its DVRs.  (The order  
> currently is the subject of a contempt proceeding.)
>
> While this might seem a matter of course to the law, it's a sea  
> change for us and for our technology.  Going from product to service  
> requires us to think through new protections against too-easy  
> government enforcement and intrusion, and perhaps to build those  
> protections into technology as well as law.  I've got more thoughts  
> at <http://yupnet.org/zittrain/archives/14#35>.
>
> Best,
> JZ
>
>
> Jonathan Zittrain
> Professor of Law
> Harvard Law School | Harvard Kennedy School of Government
> Co-Founder, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
> <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu>
>
>
>
>
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