[IETF-IDRM] [IDRM] Will the DMCA make our work more difficult?

[Nicko van Someren]

A very capable and well respected cryptographer, Neils Ferguson, has just
put out this essay: http://www.macfergus.com/niels/dmca/index.html
In it he states that he has come up with an efficient attack on the
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) system and then goes on
to detail why he does not feel able to publish the results.  In short, his
lawyers have told him that publishing research in this area will leave him
open to both civil and criminal proceedings under the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act and, while his right to publish should be protected by the
various laws in place to protect freedoms of speech he would expect to be
made bankrupt in the process due to legal costs.

It seems that if this group is to be useful to the IETF we are going to
need to publish analysis of various DRM systems, some of which might
already be in use.  The DMCA seems likely to hamper this and it may leave
us as individuals, and the IETF, open to legal action.

Given the above, it would seem prudent to come up with a policy on how to
deal with the DMCA now, before the problem comes back in the form of a writ.

	Nicko