The Electronic Frontier Foundation is backing a federal lawsuit seeking to bar the government from restricting publication of cryptographic documents and software. The plaintiff in the suit, Daniel J. Bernstein, has developed, and wishes to publish, an encryption algorithm, along with a program that implements the algorithm. The lawsuit challenges the export-control scheme as an ``impermissible prior restraint on speech, in violation of the First Amendment.''
Apple was let off the hook in a Minnesota lawsuit, although IBM wasn't. District Judge Richard Spicer has allowed damages to be considered by a jury if IBM is found liable for damages related to repetitive-stress injuries caused by computer keyboards. Spicer said ``sufficient'' evidence exists that IBM should have warned users about a possible link between keyboard use and repetitive-stress injuries. Apple got off because it released an alternative keyboard designed to reduce injuries.