p2pnet - rss feed: Landmark Ed, EFF, negotiations
p2pnet.net News:- The Landmark Education controversy continues.
The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) claims Landmark is using alleged copyright infringements to stifle free speech, but Landmark emailed p2pnet denying the EFF’s allegation. It also made a similar denial to Red Herring.
Yesterday, we ran a long and detailed post from Rick Ross on Cult News and in an update to its free speech charges, the EFF says it’s talking to Landmark, looking for ways to “reach an amicable resolution”.
“Last week, EFF announced that it was fighting against Landmark Education’s campaign to identify individuals who posted a French documentary, entitled Voyage Au Pays Des Nouveaux Gourous (Voyage to the Land of the New Gurus), that was critical of the Landmark program, and included hidden camera footage from inside a Landmark Forum event in France,” says an EFF Deep Links post by staff lawyer Kurt Opsahl.
It goes on that the EFF is now in discussion with Landmark about its DMCA subpoena to Google, “In the hope that we can resolve this without need of litigation” and with that in mind, the EFF has, “held off on filing its motion to quash that subpoena”.
In Red Herring, “While we appreciate the work of the EFF, the allegation that our copyright claim is bogus is entirely inaccurate,” says Landmark Education general counsel Art Schreiber.
“The facts are clear that the Landmark Forum program has for many years been copyrighted. Materials covered by this copyright registration were included throughout the video.”
And in a later email to p2pnet, Landmark says it, “did not take the actions under the DMCA to suppress free speech. In fact, one of our core principles is our commitment to empowering people’s full self-expression. Rather, we took these actions solely to protect our copyrighted material, which is the principal source of our business operations.
“While freedom of speech on the Internet is essential, it is also vital that copyrighted materials be protected.”
Now, “To the extent that the documentary includes any materials copyrighted by Landmark, that use is clearly for purposes of criticism and commentary, i.e., a non-infringing fair use,” says the EFF, adding:
“Yesterday we released a draft of our motion to quash, which explains in detail (see pages 11-16) why Landmark’s copyright claim does not hold water. Indeed, it’s not even a close call. Sorry, Landmark, but your claim is still bogus.”
(Thanks, Rick)
Also See:
denying - Landmark disputes EFF charges, November 25, 2006
long and detailed - Cult News on Landmark Education, November 9, 2006
Deep Links - EFF and Landmark: Cards on the Table, November 9, 2006
Red Herring - Landmark Fires Back at EFF, November 3, 2006
p2pnet newsfeeds for your site.
rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss
Mobile - http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
November 10th, 2006 at 7:06 pm
To download the Landmark Education French video, you can go to PirateBay for BitTorrent:
http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3537369/2003_Inside_Landmark_Forum.avi/
View the video in streaming format here:
http://www.culthelp.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1243&Itemid=12url
And read about how Landmark Education attempted to suppress Freedom of Speech over the internet through Bogus use of the DMCA act, here:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/landmark/landmark222.html
and here
http://www.rickross.com/reference/landmark/landmark223.html
December 9th, 2006 at 3:21 am
Landmark Education, and its predecessors, Werner Erhard & Associates and est (Erhard Seminars Training), have a long history of litigation and litigous threats to silence critics. Art Schreiber has made a lifetime career of what Landmark refers to as “managing the public conversation.” Dissatisfied customers cannot “share their experience”, to use the Landmark jargon, unless they can also withstand an expensive legal suit. Under the circumstances, I’d just as soon remain an Anonymous Coward, but, thank god, free from the hold Landmark once had on my thinking.