Princeton scientists sue over research

Civil liberties group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has asked a US federal court to rule that Princeton University professor Edward Felten and his research team have a right to present their findings on digital music access control technologies, despite threats from the recording industry.

The challenge comes after the scientists tried to publish the research in April but backed down after the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other music industry groups asked Felten not to do so.

In their research, Felten and his team discuss weaknesses in some watermarking technologies that record companies were considering as protection for their music.

"Studying digital access technologies and publishing the research for our colleagues are both fundamental to the progress of science and academic freedom," said Felten. "The recording industry's interpretation of the DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] would make scientific progress on this important topic illegal."

The EFF filed the legal challenge against the RIAA, the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), audio watermarking specialist Verance and the US Justice Department.

Cindy Cohn, the EFF's legal director, said that when scientists are intimidated into not publishing their work, there is a clear First Amendment problem.

Cary Sherman, senior executive vice president and general counsel at the RIAA, said in a statement: "The decision to sue us and the SDMI is inexplicable. We have unequivocally and repeatedly stated that we have no intention of bringing a lawsuit against Professor Felten or his colleagues."

"It seems that the professor, or the EFF, would have preferred that we sue in order to keep their publicity machine running," he added.

The RIAA and its supporters also said that the publication of Felten's research could violate terms of the DMCA passed by Congress in 1998.

The lawsuit asks the court to allow Felten's presentation of the paper at a conference in August and to overturn parts of the DMCA which allow for academic research exemptions.

Felten's team included students and professors from Princeton and Rice Universities and an employee of Xerox's Palo Alto research centre.