How To Support EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) For COPA, Acacia
 

The guys at The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have always and are currently really doing awesome work to protect the Internet. Everyone should provide as much support as possible. They fought against COPA for us and are going after Acacia and other companies with broad patents.

More info on these links.

Support EFF:

https://secure.eff.org/


Patent Busting Project Info:

http://www.eff.org/patent/index.php


EFF List of 10 Companies They Are Going After Including Acacia

http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/


Full Legal Text of COPA Supreme Court Decision:

http://www.cdt.org/speech/copa/20040629copadecision.pdf


Being A Webmaster For Controversial Sites Doesn't Make You A Criminal:

http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2004_06.php#001601


and lots more good stuff to protect our Internet Freedom!

http://www.eff.org

The EFF swat hats are kind of cool...


https://secure.eff.org/images/swat-hat.gif


(hint hint)

Bump for good thread. You can support them by becoming a member for only $15. Everbody can miss that. I just did!

This thread should get pinned.

Thats kinda cool!

Will sign up now. These guys need our support to fight scum.

:thumbsup

I don't wear hats but I will become a member

I did the Pioneer Member donation of $100 a year.

Everyone on GFY should be a Pioneer Member of EFF.

Freedom on the Net is at the core of our businesses. EFF has done an incredible job of protecting those freedoms we all enjoy in the electronic world.

:thumbsup

Plus your donation is TAX DEDUCTIBLE! :Graucho

Bump.

Go give something. Look upon it as insurance.

this thread is way more important than the would you hit it, and drama threads:thumbsup

lets get this thread pinned

:thumbsup :thumbsup

Oops, allmost fell of the page :winkwink:

bump

If you are an adult webmaster and you don't support the ACLU and the EFF, you are a fucking idiot.

I expect maybe five webmasters donate .

The EFF has certainly done alot for electronic freedoms in the internet age, and it has alot of support from large corporations.

On the subject of Acacia and EFF's late entrance to the party, let me share with you my observations.:

Once EFF has collected prior art against Acacia (proof that the "invention" existed prior to May 1990, which includes alot of what I and other volunteer searchers found), they would then present it to the USPTO for re-examination.

In talking with several patent attorneys, they have all said that the USPTO has historically not taken up re-exam requests when there is open litigation. The federal court system has been designated as the place to resolve patent issues.

Case in point, the Eolas Patent, where Microsoft lost the court litigation, but the W3C was able to submit their prior art for re-exam.

There is open litigation going on right now, with the Markman Hearings concluded, and waiting for the Markman Hearing conclusion sometime before July 31st.

The current defendants have spent and are continuing to spend the profits from their company to fund the fight, making it their BUSINESS DECISION not to settle and to take a stand.

They are doing so for their business, for your business, and for the industry as a whole, to take the stand now, rather than wait for more patent holders to be coming in.

On July 7th, Judge Ware will hear both sides in Acacia's proposed class action lawsuit that lumps in all adult websites that have video based on 2257 as the qualifier.

While it is great that EFF is stepping up their efforts to fight against patent abuse, there is already a fight on everyone's doorstep, and the problem is there is no rallying of the people that the defendants are seeking to protect.

Giving money to the EFF is great and it will go to all kinds of worthwhile fights, but this Acacia matter is so important and so real, that it is the Defense Group that needs your support.

For those that did contribute to the IMPA, i am sure it was much appreciated, but hardly enough to make a dint in the attorney bills.

Sponsor programs can do alot to support the defendants in asking their affiliates to put aside money. Instead of what you might be paying to Acacia, that money could go towards the Defense Fund. Sponsors could even go so far as to make matching funds. There is the current situation where 1/3 of the industry has settled, 1/3 are fighting, and 1/3 are just sitting around watching and not pitching in.

If there is not wide spread support for the defendants, then who will stand up next time a patent holder comes in again? Will they be jaded from this experience?

Contact spike (or me if you need to get ahold of spike), if you want to help in the fight (this means small and large webmaster programs).

If you don't stand for someth'n, you'll fall for anything.


Fight the Soapbox!

If you want to read more about the proposed class action lawsuit against the adult industry, click the link below to read a summary of the situation along with court docs that Acacia has filed.

http://www.fightthepatent.com/v2/ClassAction.html


The defendants wil be going back to court on July 7th to argue against the class action.


Fight the Six degrees of separation!

I hope you're wrong. I've donated before, to these guys and to the IMPA both, and will again. I've never become a full member of the EFF, but now seems like a pretty damned good time to do so.



Time to take out the trash, and get in the faces of Acacia and anyone who supports them.