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Interesting case of the EFF vs. Landmark Education
I just learned that the EFF took on Landmark to stop them from mis-using the DMCA [http://www.eff.org/cases/landmark-and...]. Having sat through Landmark's recruiting pitch I know that they consider their "ideas" as "core technology." In this case they are trying to equate the discussion of the ideas with the specific embodiment of them in the training manual. They're obviously not the same thing, as any IP lawyer can tell you.
Landmark is the descendant of est (erhardt seminar training), the famed human potential seminars of the seventies. Whenever you ask someone from Landmark about what the connection is with est they'll say "we just purchased technology from them." The "technology" is the ideas behind the training, I guess. Given their belief in the proprietary nature of their ideas, it makes sense they'd attempt to shut down films that capture them for public viewing. Particularly on the Internet!
Landmark is the descendant of est (erhardt seminar training), the famed human potential seminars of the seventies. Whenever you ask someone from Landmark about what the connection is with est they'll say "we just purchased technology from them." The "technology" is the ideas behind the training, I guess. Given their belief in the proprietary nature of their ideas, it makes sense they'd attempt to shut down films that capture them for public viewing. Particularly on the Internet!
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Inappropriate?The thing is, the documentary didn't really disclose any of those "technologies" even if you believe them to be worthy of protection. The documentary Landmark tried to censor was mainly critical of their recruitment tactics. To prove its point, it sent a reporter into one of their sessions with a secret camera to film the pitch and show the intense and arguably abusive manner in which the Landmark members pushed their "technology" on the audience.
In doing so, it did show a few pages of Landmark's "training manual" that included specific scripts and guidelines for wearing down audience members in order to convince them to continue with the program. I suppose one could call that "technology" in some way but either way, a documentary exposing Landmark's controversial nature is protected by the First Amendment and not infringing on any rights in the technology.
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