Bernstein v. United States
Encyclopedia
Bernstein v. United States is a set of court cases brought by Daniel J. Bernstein
challenging restrictions on the export of cryptography
from the United States
.
The case was first brought in 1995, when Bernstein was a student at University of California, Berkeley
, and wanted to publish a paper and associated source code on his Snuffle
encryption system. Bernstein was represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation
, who hired outside lawyer Cindy Cohn
. After four years and one regulatory change, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled that software
source code
was speech protected by the First Amendment
and that the government's regulations preventing its publication were unconstitutional.
The government modified the regulations again, substantially loosening them, and Bernstein, now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago
, challenged them again. This time, he chose to represent himself, although he had no formal legal training. On October 15, 2003, almost nine years after Bernstein first brought the case, the judge dismissed it and asked Bernstein to come back when the government made a "concrete threat".
Daniel J. Bernstein
Daniel Julius Bernstein is a mathematician, cryptologist, programmer, and professor of mathematics at the University of Illinois at Chicago...
challenging restrictions on the export of cryptography
Export of cryptography
The export of cryptography in the United States is the transfer from the United States to another country of devices and technology related to cryptography....
from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The case was first brought in 1995, when Bernstein was a student at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and wanted to publish a paper and associated source code on his Snuffle
Snuffle
Snuffle is an encryption system designed by Daniel Bernstein and the subject of his court case, Bernstein v. United States.Often lost in the discussion of Bernstein v...
encryption system. Bernstein was represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
, who hired outside lawyer Cindy Cohn
Cindy Cohn
Cindy Cohn is an American attorney specializing in Internet law. She represented Daniel J. Bernstein and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in Bernstein v. United States, and in 1997 was recognized by California Lawyer Magazine as one of the Lawyers of the Year for this work. She currently serves...
. After four years and one regulatory change, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
ruled that software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
was speech protected by the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
and that the government's regulations preventing its publication were unconstitutional.
The government modified the regulations again, substantially loosening them, and Bernstein, now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
, challenged them again. This time, he chose to represent himself, although he had no formal legal training. On October 15, 2003, almost nine years after Bernstein first brought the case, the judge dismissed it and asked Bernstein to come back when the government made a "concrete threat".