201–210 of 324 posts
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You're right, thanks. Replace suing by charging and strike make them a little richer and . The rest of the point still stands.
Swartz's organization seems to pretty clearly claim that both MIT and JSTOR asked the feds not to charge him. While JSTOR's statement doesn't actually say thatº, it certainly seems plausible to me since they very clearly say that they privately engaged and dealt with the matter with Swartz. You simply don't do that if you're pursuing criminal charges. º I would probably be hesitant to say that publicly as well, consi…
I don't understand the legal mechanisms that could lead to JSTOR not showing any public support for Aaron, and if those exist, but I hope they will show some support during the process (as well as the MIT). Gov shouldn't put digital theft in the same basket as physical theft.
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> somehow "owns" its archive It does own its archive. They just may not own the exclusive copyright to the contents of the archive... there is a subtle distinction.
There is no non-exclusive copyright. J-STOR is not the copyright owner, period. They do own the right to the composition of their collection, so someone who got the whole collection would be liable to infringing their right on the composition of the collection; in contrast, a random sample of articles would infringe on the publishers' IP rights rather than J-STOR's. The subtle point is that J-STOR is absolutely not i…
Compilation copyright only applies to compilations where some creativity is employed in selecting the items to be included. There is no "sweat of the brow" database right under US law. JSTOR almost certainly does not have a compilation copyright on their collection, since any creativity being employed in selection is being employed by the journals they archive, not JSTOR employees.
At any rate, the indictment does not include any charges of copyright infringement.
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That price actually seems pretty reasonable for a large research university. The real question is how much they charge individuals who want to get an article. My first google search ( http://www.jstor.org/pss/27757488 ) results in $12/article. This is very steep when you're trying to do research and don't even know if the article is what you're looking for.
Most public libraries have relationships with JSTOR that allow members to access the articles online. I use the Boston Public Library and look up articles via Google Scholar. All free.
This all hinges on what he was going to do with the documents. If he was looking to perform some large-scale analysis (such as he has done before) and publish the results academically, then this would fall under the academic mission of MIT, and therefore be legit. But if this were the case, why go through the hassle of hacking the system? Why not just ask JSTOR for cooperation? Or maybe he did, and they rejected it?…
What Aaron did sounds seriously sketchy (sneaking into MIT wiring closets, trying to download the entire database, etc.), a fact that Demand Progress and several commenters here seem to be ignoring. Defending his actions would require a very strong, multi-pronged version of the argument "if it's physically / technologically possible, it must be ok." Can MIT legally limit guest access to its network? Can JSTOR limit a…
Trying to download entire databases!!! Oh my. Won't someone please think of the children!!!
This is the most technically competent charging document I've ever read. I guess there must have been some hackers on the grand jury. Paragraph 35 & 36: which "protected computer" on MIT's network did he access? Certainly they're not trying to claim his laptop was a protected computer? Are they talking about the DHCP server or whatever registration frontend MIT has for the DHCP assignments? I have trouble with the co…
More than likely, the document was written by the prosecutors office. The procedure as I understand it is: * Prosecutor assembles evidence, writes indictment. * Prosecutor presents evidence to Grand Jury. This may include witnesses or documents. * Grand Jury votes on if there is enough there to approve indictment If they've got a computer crimes division, then they're going to have hacker types in the prosecutor's of…
JSTOR's statement http://about.jstor.org/news-events/news/jstor-statement-misu... JSTOR Statement: Misuse Incident and Criminal Case The United States Department of Justice announced today the criminal indictment of an individual, Aaron Swartz, on charges related to computer fraud and abuse stemming from his misuse of the JSTOR database. We have been subpoenaed by the United States Attorney’s Office in this case and…
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, at 50K a year? When they won't even sell it to institutions they don't consider proper schools? Somebody needs to re-evaluate their mission statement...
This is almost too good: "As Swartz entered the wiring closet, he held his bicycle helmet like a mask to shield his face, looking through ventilation holes in the helmet."