Tuesday, January 7, 2003

DeCSS Author Acquitted -- 1:17 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Jon Johansen, author of the DeCSS DVD unencrypter, was acquitted of all charges in Norway. The court ruled that there's nothing illegal about playing DVDs that you yourself have purchased. What a novel concept. Here's a snip:

The court ruled there was "no evidence" that either Johansen or others had used the decryption code (called DeCSS) for illegal purposes. Johansen therefore couldn't be convicted on such grounds, nor for acting as an accessory to other alleged illegal activity, wrote judge Irene Sogn in the court's ruling.

Nor, wrote Sogn, was there any evidence that Johansen intended to contribute to illegal copying.

The court determined that it is not illegal to use the DeCSS code to watch DVD films obtained by legal means.

It's nice to see the entertainment industry getting some well-deserved kicks in the teeth. Only they would try to send you to jail for using something you bought. I saw this link on a number of sites.

The Master comments: My biggest complaint with the Entertainment industry is not the fact that they make money; I am offended by their methodology. I am tired to death of albums with 1 good song, and 9 fillers that I absolutely hate. I am tired of having to shell out hundreds of dollors to purchase DVD-playing software, when I should be able to get that for a nominal fee. The RIAA does not deserve control of any form over my viewing or listening habits. And I am tired of being called a thief by the movie industry and the FBI every time I play a movie I own. And I bloody well own enough of them.

Oh, and when are the music companies finally going to lower their CD prices like they were supposed to do years ago after they got busted for price fixing?

News for 01/07/2003

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