Chris says he is going to delete all references to this on his site, including the announcement itself, so it may not be there when you check it. But here is the address: Goldwave.com
If it is gone, I happen to have saved it to my hardrive. But I have quoted it below.
Basically, Audible is warning him to remove all references from his site to Goldwave's ability to save Audible.com files to disk. It could be worse--apparently, they aren't going after Goldwave, which is good news, but it does show how the DMCA even affects other countries. He's Canadian.
The following registered letter was received by GoldWave Inc. on May 21, 2004:
Piper Rudnick
1775 Wiehle Avenue, Suite 400
Reston, Virginia 20190-5159
[phone/fax]
[Attorney]
[e-mail address]
[phone/fax]
April 20, 2004
REGISTERED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Dear Mr. Craig:
Our law firm represents Audible Inc. with respect to all claims against you and your
company arising from or related to your marketing, promoting, distributing, licensing and selling
GoldWave Digital Audio Editor software (the "GoldWave software") as a means of
circumventing Audible's access control and digital rights management protection methods for
the purpose of converting protected Audible content to unprotected MP3 files. Your actions are
in violation of the anticircumvention prohibitions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and
constitute willful contributory copyright infringement.
The GoldWave software is specifically designed to convert files to and from different file
formats. In your GoldWave Frequently Asked Questions ("F.A.Q.s") posted on your website
you specifically describe how your GoldWave software may be used to open and convert
Audible files. Your GoldWave software is being widely used to convert protected Audible files
to MP3 files without Audible's digital rights management features that are designed to protect
the rights of Audible's copyright owners in and to their copyrighted works.
Section 1201(b) of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act prohibits the provisions or
trafficking of any software or other technology that is designed to avoid, bypass, remove,
deactivate or otherwise impair digital rights management technological measures designed to
prevent, restrict or otherwise limit the exercise of exclusive copyright rights in and to the
Audible protected content. Your GoldWave software is being used to circumvent Audible's
digital rights management copy control measures to create unauthorized copies and unauthorized
derivative works based upon Audible's audiobooks and other copyrighted works. You and your
company may also be liable for contributory infringement since you obviously have knowledge
of the infringing activity and have induced, caused or materially contributed, and are continuing
to induce, cause or materially contribute, to the conduct of your GoldWave software licensees.
Demand is hereby made upon you and your company to cease and desist immediately
from any further promotion, advertising, encouragement or distribution of the GoldWave
software in any way or manner as a means for circumventing any portion of Audible's digital
rights management controls or otherwise converting protected Audible content to unprotected
MP3 files or any other unauthorized format. Demand is hereby made upon you to delete any and
all references to Audible in your F.A.Q.s or otherwise on your website in connection with any
instructions on how to use GoldWave software in any way or manner to open and convert
protected Audible content to any form of unprotected files.
We want to make sure you understand that by this letter Audible is not demanding that
you cease marketing or distributing the GoldWave software. Rather, Audible is demanding the
removal of Audible's name and any direct or indirect reference to Audible on GoldWave's
F.A.Q.s or web site and the immediate cessation of any statements or other acts promoting,
advertising or encouraging GoldWave users, or otherwise aiding and abetting GoldWave users,
to use the GoldWave software as a means of opening and converting protected Audible content
to any form of unprotected files. If you fail to take the necessary action to prevent further
infringement and abuse of Audible's content, further legal action may be necessary to protect the
content of Audible and its licensors.
Please take particular notice that Audible is aware that GoldWave relies on the presence
of Audible's Windows Media filter to open aa files. Audible is ready, willing and able to
provide technical help to GoldWave, free of any charge to you, for the purpose of restricting the
GoldWave application from opening Audible files. We hope you will avail yourself of this offer.
In the event you and your company fail to comply with these demands within five (5)
days of your receipt of this letter, Audible has authorized our firm to seek further legal remedies
to stop your violations of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and willful contributory copyright
infringement activities. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act permits injunctive relief to prevent
or restrain violations, impoundment, actual damages, statutory damages up to $U.S. 2500 for
each act of circumvention and attorneys fees.
Sincerely,
[Attorney]
GoldWave Inc.'s open response:
May 24, 2004
Dear Audible Inc.:
In your cease and desist letter of April 20, 2004, several incorrect claims regarding violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have been made against GoldWave Inc.
First, GoldWave Inc. is a Canadian company. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is not a Canadian law.
Second, the claim that the GoldWave Digital Audio Editor ("GoldWave") is designed to circumvent digital rights is adamantly false. GoldWave uses the Microsoft DirectShow API to read audio from video files and other compressed formats that it cannot read directly. The ability to read Audible files is contained entirely within the DirectShow API and related filters. It is not the result of any special design in GoldWave. GoldWave itself contains no code whatsoever to circumvent digital rights protection.
To prevent DirectShow applications from reading files, Audible Inc. should delete or redesign its Windows Media Filter software. It is Audible's own software that allows DirectShow to remove the digital rights protection. GoldWave alone is entirely incapable of reading Audible files.
Third, people use GoldWave to convert Audible files for personal use. They must own legitimate copies of the files, or they would be unable to use them in the first place. Files are converted for use on portable devices or to write them to CDs. This may be legal in the US under "fair use" provisions.
GoldWave Inc. respects the rights of copyright holders, but also respects the freedoms and rights of individuals to convert legitimate digital content to a format they find most convenient.
Although I strongly disagree with Audible Inc.'s unfounded and invalid claims, GoldWave Inc. will voluntarily comply with the demand to delete all information about Audible from its website.
Chris Craig
GoldWave Inc.
Some background information and facts:
* Audible Inc.
o annual revenue of $19M
o 80 employees
o sells audio books and other spoken audio content
* GoldWave Inc.
o annual revenue [significantly less]
o 1 employee
o sells audio editing software/shareware
* The cease and desist order applies only to the F.A.Q. entry on the website, not directly to GoldWave itself.
* The F.A.Q. entry simply instructs people to 1) download the Audible Windows Media filter, 2) seek to the beginning of the file. That is all. Resetting to the beginning of the file is not some form of circumvention. It merely rewinds the file to the beginning, similar to rewinding a tape.
* GoldWave contains no code specifically designed to read Audible files. It contains only general purpose DirectShow code to read audio from video files. DirectShow in conjunction with Audible's software somehow allows GoldWave to read Audible files.
* About three years ago I was informed by an Audible customer that GoldWave could convert the files. Originally I was unaware that GoldWave could perform such conversions and I did not know that Audible Inc. existed.
* After receiving the C&D letter, I searched Google for the words "audible pirate goldwave". There is little indication of outright piracy of Audible content. If people are using GoldWave to pirate Audible's content, then they are likely using an unlicensed or pirated version of GoldWave as well.
* This link provides an example of how GoldWave's ability to convert Audible files potentially increases Audible's business. Many people do not want to sit in front of their computers for 8 hours or more to listen to an Audible book.
While I do not believe that Audible has a case, I will be removing all Audible information, including these letters, from the website on May 26th. The F.A.Q. information is insignificant, so removing it will have negligible impact on my company. Not having to answer Audible related questions may even save me time in the future.
I've posted this information to reveal how the DMCA is still being used to harass people outside the US. I am not naive enough to believe that being Canadian offers me any protection considering previous cases (see DVD Jon and ElcomSoft/eBook). The Canadian government is notoriously submissive under US pressure. We also have our share of weak ministers that are more than eager sell out individual rights to corporations and embrace the DMCA.
Ironically GoldWave suffers from blatant software piracy (Zizoft is not authorized to sell GoldWave), so I can sympathize with Audible's position to some degree. I respectfully request that people not contact Audible, cancel subscriptions, etc. Audible has an obligation to its content providers to defend copyrighted material. For all I know, they may have been forced to act by pressure from those providers. I hope they use a different approach in the future, however.
I've always believed there was a reasonable compromise between copyright protection and individual rights. As a victim of both piracy and the DMCA, I guess I found it. Maybe it's time to learn knitting instead.
Chris
If it is gone, I happen to have saved it to my hardrive. But I have quoted it below.
Basically, Audible is warning him to remove all references from his site to Goldwave's ability to save Audible.com files to disk. It could be worse--apparently, they aren't going after Goldwave, which is good news, but it does show how the DMCA even affects other countries. He's Canadian.
The following registered letter was received by GoldWave Inc. on May 21, 2004:
Piper Rudnick
1775 Wiehle Avenue, Suite 400
Reston, Virginia 20190-5159
[phone/fax]
[Attorney]
[e-mail address]
[phone/fax]
April 20, 2004
REGISTERED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Dear Mr. Craig:
Our law firm represents Audible Inc. with respect to all claims against you and your
company arising from or related to your marketing, promoting, distributing, licensing and selling
GoldWave Digital Audio Editor software (the "GoldWave software") as a means of
circumventing Audible's access control and digital rights management protection methods for
the purpose of converting protected Audible content to unprotected MP3 files. Your actions are
in violation of the anticircumvention prohibitions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and
constitute willful contributory copyright infringement.
The GoldWave software is specifically designed to convert files to and from different file
formats. In your GoldWave Frequently Asked Questions ("F.A.Q.s") posted on your website
you specifically describe how your GoldWave software may be used to open and convert
Audible files. Your GoldWave software is being widely used to convert protected Audible files
to MP3 files without Audible's digital rights management features that are designed to protect
the rights of Audible's copyright owners in and to their copyrighted works.
Section 1201(b) of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act prohibits the provisions or
trafficking of any software or other technology that is designed to avoid, bypass, remove,
deactivate or otherwise impair digital rights management technological measures designed to
prevent, restrict or otherwise limit the exercise of exclusive copyright rights in and to the
Audible protected content. Your GoldWave software is being used to circumvent Audible's
digital rights management copy control measures to create unauthorized copies and unauthorized
derivative works based upon Audible's audiobooks and other copyrighted works. You and your
company may also be liable for contributory infringement since you obviously have knowledge
of the infringing activity and have induced, caused or materially contributed, and are continuing
to induce, cause or materially contribute, to the conduct of your GoldWave software licensees.
Demand is hereby made upon you and your company to cease and desist immediately
from any further promotion, advertising, encouragement or distribution of the GoldWave
software in any way or manner as a means for circumventing any portion of Audible's digital
rights management controls or otherwise converting protected Audible content to unprotected
MP3 files or any other unauthorized format. Demand is hereby made upon you to delete any and
all references to Audible in your F.A.Q.s or otherwise on your website in connection with any
instructions on how to use GoldWave software in any way or manner to open and convert
protected Audible content to any form of unprotected files.
We want to make sure you understand that by this letter Audible is not demanding that
you cease marketing or distributing the GoldWave software. Rather, Audible is demanding the
removal of Audible's name and any direct or indirect reference to Audible on GoldWave's
F.A.Q.s or web site and the immediate cessation of any statements or other acts promoting,
advertising or encouraging GoldWave users, or otherwise aiding and abetting GoldWave users,
to use the GoldWave software as a means of opening and converting protected Audible content
to any form of unprotected files. If you fail to take the necessary action to prevent further
infringement and abuse of Audible's content, further legal action may be necessary to protect the
content of Audible and its licensors.
Please take particular notice that Audible is aware that GoldWave relies on the presence
of Audible's Windows Media filter to open aa files. Audible is ready, willing and able to
provide technical help to GoldWave, free of any charge to you, for the purpose of restricting the
GoldWave application from opening Audible files. We hope you will avail yourself of this offer.
In the event you and your company fail to comply with these demands within five (5)
days of your receipt of this letter, Audible has authorized our firm to seek further legal remedies
to stop your violations of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and willful contributory copyright
infringement activities. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act permits injunctive relief to prevent
or restrain violations, impoundment, actual damages, statutory damages up to $U.S. 2500 for
each act of circumvention and attorneys fees.
Sincerely,
[Attorney]
GoldWave Inc.'s open response:
May 24, 2004
Dear Audible Inc.:
In your cease and desist letter of April 20, 2004, several incorrect claims regarding violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have been made against GoldWave Inc.
First, GoldWave Inc. is a Canadian company. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is not a Canadian law.
Second, the claim that the GoldWave Digital Audio Editor ("GoldWave") is designed to circumvent digital rights is adamantly false. GoldWave uses the Microsoft DirectShow API to read audio from video files and other compressed formats that it cannot read directly. The ability to read Audible files is contained entirely within the DirectShow API and related filters. It is not the result of any special design in GoldWave. GoldWave itself contains no code whatsoever to circumvent digital rights protection.
To prevent DirectShow applications from reading files, Audible Inc. should delete or redesign its Windows Media Filter software. It is Audible's own software that allows DirectShow to remove the digital rights protection. GoldWave alone is entirely incapable of reading Audible files.
Third, people use GoldWave to convert Audible files for personal use. They must own legitimate copies of the files, or they would be unable to use them in the first place. Files are converted for use on portable devices or to write them to CDs. This may be legal in the US under "fair use" provisions.
GoldWave Inc. respects the rights of copyright holders, but also respects the freedoms and rights of individuals to convert legitimate digital content to a format they find most convenient.
Although I strongly disagree with Audible Inc.'s unfounded and invalid claims, GoldWave Inc. will voluntarily comply with the demand to delete all information about Audible from its website.
Chris Craig
GoldWave Inc.
Some background information and facts:
* Audible Inc.
o annual revenue of $19M
o 80 employees
o sells audio books and other spoken audio content
* GoldWave Inc.
o annual revenue [significantly less]
o 1 employee
o sells audio editing software/shareware
* The cease and desist order applies only to the F.A.Q. entry on the website, not directly to GoldWave itself.
* The F.A.Q. entry simply instructs people to 1) download the Audible Windows Media filter, 2) seek to the beginning of the file. That is all. Resetting to the beginning of the file is not some form of circumvention. It merely rewinds the file to the beginning, similar to rewinding a tape.
* GoldWave contains no code specifically designed to read Audible files. It contains only general purpose DirectShow code to read audio from video files. DirectShow in conjunction with Audible's software somehow allows GoldWave to read Audible files.
* About three years ago I was informed by an Audible customer that GoldWave could convert the files. Originally I was unaware that GoldWave could perform such conversions and I did not know that Audible Inc. existed.
* After receiving the C&D letter, I searched Google for the words "audible pirate goldwave". There is little indication of outright piracy of Audible content. If people are using GoldWave to pirate Audible's content, then they are likely using an unlicensed or pirated version of GoldWave as well.
* This link provides an example of how GoldWave's ability to convert Audible files potentially increases Audible's business. Many people do not want to sit in front of their computers for 8 hours or more to listen to an Audible book.
While I do not believe that Audible has a case, I will be removing all Audible information, including these letters, from the website on May 26th. The F.A.Q. information is insignificant, so removing it will have negligible impact on my company. Not having to answer Audible related questions may even save me time in the future.
I've posted this information to reveal how the DMCA is still being used to harass people outside the US. I am not naive enough to believe that being Canadian offers me any protection considering previous cases (see DVD Jon and ElcomSoft/eBook). The Canadian government is notoriously submissive under US pressure. We also have our share of weak ministers that are more than eager sell out individual rights to corporations and embrace the DMCA.
Ironically GoldWave suffers from blatant software piracy (Zizoft is not authorized to sell GoldWave), so I can sympathize with Audible's position to some degree. I respectfully request that people not contact Audible, cancel subscriptions, etc. Audible has an obligation to its content providers to defend copyrighted material. For all I know, they may have been forced to act by pressure from those providers. I hope they use a different approach in the future, however.
I've always believed there was a reasonable compromise between copyright protection and individual rights. As a victim of both piracy and the DMCA, I guess I found it. Maybe it's time to learn knitting instead.
Chris
