The Ann
ual Meeting of the Association of American Publishers got off to a strong start with timely and persuasive talks from Daniel Marni, US Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator for the US government and Carolyn J. Ross, Professor of Law at The George Washington University and author of Lessons in Censorship: How Schools and Courts Subvert Students’ First Amendment Rights, published last year by Harvard University Press.
Marni, who was sworn in about a year ago, oversees key committees with representatives from multiple agencies, all with an eye toward protecting intellectual property from piracy of all kinds. He works closely with the AAP and is a strong advocate for publishers’ issues which have expanded exponentially with the advances in technology. Much of what he described was not controversial for those in the audience who have much at stake in developing strategies for both legislative reform and constant vigilance of abuse around the world. In fact, Marni noted, that his appointment was approved unanimously in the house, suggesting that content protection is one rare, truly, non-partisan issue.
That said, Marni’s plea at the end of his presentation, for more insight into the data behind abuse might touch off some privacy issues. He described the frequent culling done at major credit card companies and internet giants such as Google to cut off users and sites that have evidence of unlawful dissemination of copyrighted material but said that without at least generalized information about the geographic and financial make-up of those accounts, the government cannot pursue offenders as effectively as he would like. He was quick to say they only want anonymous data but it still remains an open debate and, according to Marni, limits the agency’s abilities to pursue those who are abusing the law. He anxiously suggested that the private sector is a key factor in helping the government combat the problem.
Carolyn Ross’s presentation was received very attentively as she articulated a surprising reality in schools across the country. Over the past 60 years, the definition of free speech has been modified in various court decisions so as to grant public schools some room to exercise control over that which appears in their official communication vehicles. But, as Ross pointed out with numerous examples, the exceptions are very limited and most school officials are woefully uninformed on the particulars.
As a result, there are hundreds of outrageous cases of suspension, expulsion, and forced school reassignments all because a parent complained to a principal who took inappropriate action.
The examples Ross cited were shocking to the audience and she suggested she could have spent the whole day describing case after case of absurd and extreme over-reaction to student actions. The audience listened raptly and, as one said, “I’m going out to buy your book as soon as I leave.”
