Cyber Law Quiz at Nitte

Nitte may be a small and far away place compared to the cities such as Bangalore which have gained reputation as the Silicon valley of India. But Nitte carved out a place for itself in the history of Cyber Law Education in India by becoming perhaps the first place where an exclusive Cyber Law Quiz was conducted. Naavi, Director of Cyber Law College, conducted the Cyber Law Quiz at the NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte, a leading Engineering College in Karnataka for the faculty members of Engineering Colleges and a group of Police officers. The quiz was sponsored by Infosys. About 34 faculty members of Engineering colleges and 16 Police officers from the region participated in the quiz. and  The quiz was conducted as part of the 3 day workshop on Cyber Laws conducted under the TEQUIP programme.

Hoarding of Cricket Broadcast Checkmated !

Following the renewed controversy regarding private broadcasters holding Cricket broadcast rights refusing to share the feed with Prasar Bharati, the Government of India is promulgating an ordinance to make such sharing mandatory. In a move which would prevent the private broadcasters hoarding the broadcasts of important sports events that may happen in India and deny the Indian masses of the feed through AIR and DD, the ordinance mandates that the sharing of advertisement free feed would be mandatory with a revenue sharing of 75% : 25 % . Though the ordinance is likely to bring displeasure to the broadcasters, it must be remembered that this is the International trend which has come up because of the greedy nature of the broadcasters who hoard broadcast rights of key events and try to collect a ransom. It may be recalled here that Australia, the land from which Commercial Cricket broadcasts developed as an industry, has a similar legislation. Naavi.org welcomes the legislation : report in indiatimes

Cyber Forensic Labs for the Indian Police

Recently Law Enforcement offices in Chennai and Bangalore have embarked on equipping themselves with a new set of Forensic tools to tackle Cyber Crimes. This appears to be part of a new wave of modernization of the Police across India.

While, it is a welcome feature that Police are focusing on Cyber forensic empowerment for themselves, it is necessary to ensure that like many other e-Governance projects, the purchases made for building a cyber forensic lab  does become merely acquisition of equipments and utilization of budgets before the year ends without building the necessary skill sets.

In order to enable Indian law enforcement set up a functionally effective forensic lab, Naavi has put a functional lab design in place keeping the functionality. The labs may try to equip these functional units with appropriate hardware and software keeping the reliability, speed of operation and and cost considerations in view.  ...More (280107)

Trial By Media could be Admissible Evidence

In a significant development for criminal jurisprudence in India, the Supreme Court in its order of January 22, 2007 has held that any interview given by the accused to the media can be considered as admissible evidence in criminal prosecution by a trial court. This has placed journalists particularly from the electronic media at a highly responsible position in the context of criminal trials and also added a new dimension to the "Sting Operations".....Report in TOI

Seminar on Basics of IPR

Manupatra is conducting a one day seminar in Chennai on "Basics of IPR" on 10th February 2007  at The Park. The programme is co-sponsored by Cyber Law College. For more details click here

Linux Foundation Formed

Major technology companies like I.B.M., Intel and Hewlett-Packard, are collaborating in a mission to strengthen Linux adoption in the industry through formation of a new group Linux Foundation to help Linux compete more effectively with Microsoft. The emphasis however appears to be the use of Linux in data centers. A similar initiative for use of Linux in home computers is needed. It would be ideal that India aspiring to be the IT technology leader in the world takes up this challenge and like China start research on an Open Source OS to compete with Windows..  Details in NYTimes (230107)

Google to Enter Offline Advertising?

Google has sought patent for a technology that enables it to display ads in Kiosks and Digital Bill Boards. The move has a far reaching consequence in integrating the Cyber Space and Physical space as an integrated media for the purpose of advertising. It has to be examined if the patent has any possibility of being extended to advertising in the Electronic media both in Direct satellite broadcasts and cable based broadcasts. The Bank has absorbed the entire loss and refunded the amount to the customers. Article in WSJ  (230107)

Biggest Bank Phishing Fraud

It has been reported that a group of 121 organized Russian criminals have defrauded 250 customers of a swedish Bank Nordea to the extent of around US $ 1.1 million through a phishing e-mail containing a Trojan. This is said to be one of the largest such frauds on the Internet..The attack used a program called a trojan, known as haxdoor.ki, which the victims were duped into downloading  after receiving an email, purporting to come from the bank, encouraging them to download anti-spam software. ..... Details at bbc.co.uk (230107)

Recording Songs from Radio

A lawsuit in which record companies allege XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. is cheating them by letting consumers store songs has been taken up for Trial by a U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts  in a case brought by Atlantic Recording Corp., BMG Music, Capitol Records Inc. and other music distribution companies against the licensed satellite radio broadcaster.

The companies said XM directly infringes on their exclusive distribution rights by letting consumers record songs onto special receivers marketed as ``XM + MP3'' players. XM has however contended that it is protected from infringement lawsuits by the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, which permits individuals to record music off the radio for private use. The case has the potential to re define some consumer rights regarding recording of radio broadcasts... Details in siliconvalley.com  (230107)

India to adopt key provisions of DMCA

In the proposed amendments to the Indian Copyright Act 1957, several new provisions that affect the Copyright on Digital Media content have been introduced. Amongst them is the provision regarding the  "Circumvention Tools" which made global headlines when the Russian Programmer Mr Dmitry Sklyrov was arrested. Refer here for the amendment.

Judging by the experience in the Dmitry Sklyrov case, software developers need to be careful that any of their programmes or projects are not indirectly assisting in the circumvention of copyright protections. Similar provision is also made for any unauthorised  removal of digital rights information. (220107)

Cricket Telecast.. A Misuse of IPR

The controversy that has arisen with the Nimbus Sports refusing to share the Cricket feed with Doordarshan has reopened the discussion on compulsory broadcast rights for the Government channel in respect of sports events. This was to be enacted into a law with the Communication Convergence Act which was shelved for other reasons. The Broadcast Bill which has a provision is still pending with the Parliament.

It must be noted that similar laws are already present in other countries such as Australia and the Supreme Court of India has also expressed its opinion in the past that such a law would be in order. It is only the lethargy of the IB Ministry or other extraneous reasons which have prevented the law being enacted.

It must be noted that Nimbus bought and BCCI sold rights for terrestrial broadcast of Cricket matches knowing fully well that it is only Doordarshan which had the infrastructure for the broadcast. It was therefore a speculative acquisition of a right with a  profiteering objective and Doordarshan has every right to refuse to sign on the dotted line. BCCI also has to be faulted since it could have prevented the controversy if it had separately provided the terrestrial broadcast rights to DD and satellite broadcast rights to Nimbus. Let us therefore welcome the move to legislate "Compulsory Broadcast of Sports Events by the Public Broadcaster". (220107).. Related Article in TOI

China to Break the Intel-Microsoft hold on IT

It is refreshing to hear that China is set to release its own PC with a new domestically produced processor with Linux. The PCs will use the home-made chip, Godson II E and Linux. They have a 40-gigabyte hard drive and 256 megs of memory.  Price in China will be RMB1,599 ($200) excluding the monitor and a keyboard. Together the price is expected to be around $250 in the first instance.

It is high time that a consortium of technologists in India should start working on an Indian OS which combines the GUI functionalities of windows in an Open source software. The project should be lead by an academic institution such as a "Consortium of IITs" and supported by the Government of India as a part of the need to develop an IT infrastructure that can be trusted to protect the Indian interests both commercial and information security.

DRM the new IPR Tool to be mandatory?.

A bill has been introduced in US Congress suggesting that anyone broadcasting on the Internet has to use digital rights management technology which would stop listeners from making unauthorized copies. It also wants to stop time shifting where you record a show at one time and listed to it at another.

It is interesting to observe that Microsoft which wants to be a leader in DRM technology and has incorporated several features of the same in Vista.. Windows Vista may actually make such a legislation redundant since Vista has a feature which can take control of what content can be viewed or not which is controlled by Microsoft. If a content owner reports to Microsoft that his content should not be viewed without DRM component, it will be blocked by the OS.

However, Microsoft may find its "Media Player" technology curbed by the legislation that protects against recording of streaming data and replaying it after a delay. .(210107)

How To Multiply Your Earnings with IPR..The Microsoft Trick.

When it comes to making a commercial gain out of the IPR protection, no one can beat Microsoft. Microsoft should be credited with the innovative ideas such as

    " I retain the right to introduce new versions whenever I want and your license expires the moment I introduce a new version".

    " If your system has crashed and you want to reinstall the license, you may have to pay again",

    " If you have used the XP license on one computer, the license is locked to the computer. If you sell the computer, sell it with the software and buy a new license for your new computer".

Though this "license to device system" has now been withdrawn allowing one time transfer Microsoft has found one more innovation with Vista. This new innovation is to restrict the license to a bootable partition in a hard disk. If you want to run Vista on multiple partitions, you need separate licenses. For a product that is supposed to be selling at 7 times the cost price these innovations forcing each buyer to buy the product again and again, the EULA has become a "Gold Mine".

Probably the lawyers of Microsoft who draft these agreements must get a share of the corporate profit as much as the software team that has built it.

Naavi.org urges Indian Government to immediately take action to protect the Indian Community against EULA s which are unconscionable. This could be done by introducing a law that " Every Software sold in India will be subject to certain principles of fair use". "Fair Use" in terms of Software  should be specifically defined  to include aspects such as "Installing the software any number of times on one computer", "Uninstalling from one computer and installing on another computer", "Installing the software in any number of partitions on one computer device " etc. (.200107)

Copy of the Vista License Terms (Home basic version) as on 20, Jan,2007

Comments are invited from visitors.

Objectionable Content on Internet.. by Apar Gupta

There are four broad areas where legislation with respect to regulation of deviant content is necessitated. The need to create substantive provisions of law keeping in regard the sui generis character of the internet,  procedural enactments  and/or amendments to exiting statute(s) that are proposed, and  the protection of civil rights... Detailed Article (PDF) :  Lessig Model

Concept of SOA and Cyber Laws

Software industry is now onto a new jargon called "SOA" or "Service Oriented Architecture" for Software. With the advancement of Networking technology and the use of resources spread over the Internet, software developers are looking for conserving their energies by sharing reusable components of code through various mechanisms. Initially the use of "libraries" that could be accessed by software processs was a concept based on this principle. Then perhaps the "Object Oriented Language" extended this concept into "Frameworks". Now the concept  appears to have been re born with the SOA concept. Perhaps the difference is that the SOA concept is now looking more on using services from computers which are far removed from each other and may be distributed over the Internet.

While this  globalized approach of access to service components is a step towards avoiding repetition of coding and reinvention of the wheel, there are serious issues of Cyber Laws involved in the sharing of such components....More

Legal Compliance Solutions Make their Debut in India

In what can be recognized as a significant development in India, a structured IT solution for Indian Cyber Law compliance is reportedly developed by EMC. Naavi who has been in the forefront of advocating of CyLawCom solutions has been recommending Indian software companies to take up development of compliance solutions as a product line. However, Indian software companies have been more concerned with their dollar earnings and happy developing products for the foreign market. Now that an US company such as EMC thinks that the Indian market is big enough for such products, other software giants would also consider it worth a look...Report in Efytimes

PR Syndicate to Honour Naavi

PR Syndicate an organization of PR Professionals in Chennai is honouring Naavi for "Excellence in public life" on 20th January 2007 at Chennai..PR Syndicate is a non-profit professional association established in January 2006 at Chennai to promote PR skills among managers of organizations, entrepreneurs, practitioners, media people, students and career women and is celebrating its first anniversary on January 20,2007. On this occassion, PR Syndicate is honouring a few individuals in recognition of their contribution to society in different fields. invitation

ISPs in Brazil play the familiar trick to get the ban on You Tube lifted... 100107

Several times in the back Indian ISPs have opposed moves for blocking objectionable content on a website by expressing their inability to block specific portions of websites. This happened for the first time regarding the Mizoram group and again when the blogs were blocked following the Mumbai blasts. The resulting uproar from the affected community ensured that the blocking was lifted. Similar strategy seems to have been adopted by the Brazilian ISPs when they were ordered to remove an offensive video clipping from youtube.com. By blocking the entire website of youtube.com, the ISPs have ensured enough public pressure on the judiciary to order a temporary lifting of the ban. It is expected that the decision will be reviewed shortly after the Court ascertains if the contention of the ISPs that they cannot block the video is correct. In the meantime, another argument presented in favour of lifting of the ban is that the video has now been hosted on other sites outside the jurisdiction of the Brazilian Court. It would be interesting to observe if the Court accepts such an argument.

report in businessweek : related article on sites blocked in India : The Blog Blocking Controversy..Is it legal?

Lure of Fashion Week ..070107

Two senior executives of Yahoo India accused of forging entry passes for a fashion show were recently granted bail by the Madras High Court. The accused namely George Zacharias Yahoo India managing director and  Ajay Nambiar, content head in a case are amongst the six employees of Yahoo India who allegedly  forged  Sify identity cards  to gain unauthorised entry into the Lakme Fashion Week held in Mumbai in December.

It is interesting to note that both Zacharias and Nambiar are former senior employees of Sify, which was one of the official sponsors of Lakme Fashion Week. Perhaps they were senior enough to even get passes in their own right if employers were to follow the  norm of showing good will to its former employees.

Was it the case of the lure of the fashion show inducing the irresponsible act? or an indication of the culture of former employee vindictiveness in the IT industry?

New Cyber lab in Bangalore

Nasscom in association with Cyber Crime Police Station has opened a Cyber Lab in Bangalore to address the Cyber Crime training needs of the Police. The move assumes significance in the light of the proposed changes in ITA 2000 according to which every Police station in the country is expected to register Cyber Crimes. The concept of Cyber Crime Police Station pioneered by Bangalore is however losing significance since the law has been softened and some offences such as Identity Theft and Impersonation has been brought under IPC instead of ITA 2000. Even after  six years since ITA 2000 only a few officers associated with the specialized Cyber Crime Police Stations attained the level of expertise required for handling Cyber Crimes. The task of preparing hundreds of Police Stations to attain the minimum level of expertise required is therefore quite a challenge. We may need several more Cyber Labs in the country if some meaningful levels of training are to be achieved.  Report in ET

6 Hours is sufficient time for Intermediaries to respond !

If a notice is served on an Intermediary such as Orkut to remove offensive content, what is the reasonable time within which they need to act?

...According to new law in Italy Intermediaries will be punishable if they do not block child pornography within 6 hours of receiving notice. This could be a good benchmark for fixing Intermediary's liability under ITA 2006. .The law also empowers The Post and Telecommunications Police can inter alia , at the request of the Public Prosecutor, establish trap Web sites, trap chat areas or act on the Internet under false identities in order to identify and prosecute offenders. ..news at techwhack . news at eurpo.eu.it

We hope CERT-IN will take note of this law while issuing security guidelines to Intermediaries under the proposed new Section 79....