DMCA censorware exemption and my press recognition

I've gotten a few more favorable articles (though, as Donna Wentworth at Copyfight.org accurately quoted me "Wow. Static Control is doing better in terms of press with their loss than I'm doing with my win!")

The Register, DMCA exemptions boost archivists, disabled:

The Library of Congress has the job of looking at rulemaking, or how the Act is interpreted, and it has identified four areas where copyright circumvention has legitimate, non-infringing applications. The DMCA criminalises circumvention of protected copyright digital material. But thanks in part to campaigner Seth Finkelstein, the oversight body has decided that for the next three years, bypassing access control in these areas won't result in a breach of the DMCA.

And I get to be one of the heroes on the Lessig blog:

"thanks, Seth"

The Copyright Office just released its report (pdf) on exemptions from DMCA restrictions. There’s good news and bad news. Let’s start with the good. The Office granted four exemptions. One of the four was an exemption for censorware. This exemption was argued for strongly by a number of people, but none argued it more effectively than Seth Finkelstein. Based largely on his testimony, “compilations consisting of lists of Internet locations blocked by commercially marketed filtering software applications that are intended to prevent access to domains, websites or portions of websites, but not including lists of Internet locations blocked by software applications that operate exclusively to protect against damage to a computer or computer network or lists of Internet locations blocked by software applications that operate exclusively to prevent receipt of email” are exempt from the DMCA.

I’ve been an admirer of Seth’s work for a long time, and as this shows, with good reason. Thanks, Seth.

Plus a Greplaw item DMCA Exemptions announced.

Also a Slashdot "leftover" on Librarian of Congress Posts DMCA Exemptions:

Update: 10/29 15:19 GMT by T: Take a look at Seth Finkelstein's site for an idea of how being pushy can sometimes be helpful; Finkelstein has loudly pushed for the importance of DMCA exemptions, including in Congressional testimony.

I shouldn't complain about that, it's nice and better than nothing, take what you get. etc.

I still want a New York Times quote though, as was given to someone else in the old 2000 rulemaking. I'm the "anonymous informant[s]" of that article - it was very painful to be confined behind the scenes, in fact being personally attacked, while seeing other people getting all the credit. The scars (and against me, the grudges) are still there.

Seth Finkelstein's Infothought blog (Wikipedia, Google, censorware, and an inside view of net-politics) - Syndicate site (subscribe, RSS)