Citigroup feels violated
This morning, WordPress informed me that they’d received a “valid DMCA notice”—as in Digital Millennium Copyright Act—notice about a Citigroup research report I posted here in February 2009. Until the issue could be “resolved”—meaning I acknowledged this grave offense against intellectual property—I couldn’t post anything to this blog. Once I said “Yes, Sir,” my posting privileges were restored. The document was, of course, deleted.
The report was an analysis of the Treasury’s proposed bank capital requirements in the run-up to the stress tests. Citi’s conclusion—and I think even the DMCA allows me to quote a phrase this brief from the doc—was that “the US government is following a relatively bank-friendly, investor-friendly approach.” So there you have it, just for the record.
LBO News from Doug Henwood 
Please file a quick note at https://www.chillingeffects.org/input.cgi about this.
The DMCA is being used to curtail legitimate analysis, critique, and public scrutiny, which is far beyond its intended scope.
How lame that WordPress disables your entire account because of *one* DMCA notice. That would be enough to make me ditch WordPress as host, and move elsewhere. You can install the WordPress blog software just about anywhere.
I trust you will file a DCMA counterclaim asserting “fair use”. ;)
That’s why WordPress.org self-hosted blogs are better. You control it much more.
As someone who had his entire blog shut down with a saber rattling letter from ABC/Disney I would like to suggest that you give a call to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Ask to speak to Matt Zimmerman.
One of questions can be the posting of the document met the 4 requirements of fair use. If so, you have the ability to get the document up again.
Drop me a line at spockosemail at the gmail dot com and I we can talk about a response for the media.
There are other was of getting this information out to the public.
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