More Troubles for Diebold | NYT editorial...

[nostamj]

Diebold, the much-criticized electronic voting machine company, got another black eye last week. A federal court in California ruled that it had violated federal law when it falsely charged two students with violating its copyrights by posting critical information about its voting machines on the Internet. The case raises more questions about Diebold's honesty and its commitment to transparency.

The story began early last year when someone - it is unclear who - posted internal Diebold e-mail messages on the Internet that discussed flaws in the company's electronic voting machines. Two students from Swarthmore College then posted those messages on various Web sites. Diebold sent out a flurry of cease-and-desist letters claiming that the postings violated its copyrights. The students sued, charging that Diebold knowingly misrepresented its rights under copyright law.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California agreed. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it is illegal to send a cease-and-desist letter while knowing that the claim of copyright infringement is false. The court held that Diebold knew that its e-mail messages "discussing possible technical problems" with its voting machines were not copyrighted, but went ahead anyway.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/04/opinion/04mon3.html?oref=login

[PeaceForever]

1. It's odd that the Diebold story isn't bigger

Computers w/ no paper trail, easily hacked, that are made by a company that supports Bush. Why is there nothing wrong with that picture to people?

[JHB]

2. No "blood and/or sex" hook...

...and no good visuals, just people talking about something "technical".

You didn't REALLY need that spelled out, did you?

[nostamj]

5. as soon as Scott Peterson is found hacking a Diebold machine...

you'll see the coverage...

[AP]

3. Hey, I said this here at DU!!! I wrote dozens of posts arguing that there

is no copyright infringement.

I also commented on how it was strange that the law firm they hired to send out all their cease & desist letters was a small firm in Ohio which did not do any intellectual property work at all. It was kind of like hiring Ned Racine to draw up an invalid will before you murder your husband, played by Richard Crenna (that's a Body Heat reference for you non-movie buffs).

I didn't know that the DMA criminalized false copyright claims (but I did note that in the UK you can be sued for making a false claim of TM infringement and I suggested that the US should do the same with copyrights).

I'm feeling like I should be a lawyer or a judge or something like that!

[hunter]

6. Yep.

It was all very strange.

Even if the Bush campaign self-destructs, which I now think likely, we still need to shut down DRE voting. Paper ballots, with all their problems, are still much more reliable and trustworthy than any alternatives.

[BeFree]

4. Sentence?

Diebold should have their corporate license pulled. Even if for just six weeks.

Diebold violated the "Rules of the Road" they should have to walk or ride the bus like anyone of us. <grin>