Fair use, reverse engineering and public discussion of research encourage innovation and self-regulate industries. However, these principles which define our vibrant and creative marketplace are fading. If a professional cannot constructively critique another’s research online without being burdened with take down notices until the critique is obscured or functionally removed for long periods of time, we do not have a society from which we can learn from other’s mistakes and improve our trade. Attendees will gain a greater appreciation about how the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is increasingly being used in ways that chill free speech, disclosure of security vulnerabilities and innovative research. Using hypothetical examples and discussing case law, we will outline procedures for counterclaiming and alternatives to removal of allegedly infringing materials including discussing why data havens (some in anticipation of enactment of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) are becoming more popular.
Tiffany Strauchs Rad, MA, MBA, JD, is the President of ELCnetworks, LLC., a technology, law and business development firm with offices in Portland, Maine and Washington, D.C. Her consulting projects have included business and tech analysis for start-ups and security consulting for U.S. government agencies. She is also a part-time Adjunct Professor in the computer science department at the University of Southern Maine teaching computer law and ethics and information security. Her academic background includes study of international law and policy at Carnegie Mellon University, Oxford University, and Tsinghua University (Beijing, China). Tiffany also researches car computers, is President of the reverse engineering and development company, Q Labs, is the Director/Founder of Reverse Space, a hacker space in Northern Virginia, and is pro bono legal counsel for Project DoD, a non-profit hosting company.