Norwegian court acquitted a teenager of digital burglary

[Mr Smith]

Wednesday January 8, 9:04 AM
Oslo Court Deals Movie Industry Setback On DVDs
Associated Press

OSLO -- Hollywood didn't get its happy ending when a Norwegian court acquitted a teenager of digital burglary charges for creating and circulating online a program that cracks the security codes on digital videodiscs.

The ruling, the latest setback in the entertainment industry's drive to curtail illegal copying of its movies, was a key test in how far copyright holders can go in preventing the duplication of their intellectual property.

Jon Lech Johansen, who was 15 years old when he developed and posted the program on the Internet in late 1999, said he developed the software only to watch movies on a Linux-based computer that lacked DVD-viewing software.

"I'm extremely satisfied," he said. "Most of those who have watched the case from the outside have said nothing criminal happened."

Judge Irene Sogn said people cannot be convicted of breaking into their own property. Judge Sogn said prosecutors failed to prove that Mr. Johansen or others had used the program to access illegal pirate copies of films.

The Motion Picture Association of America, which had encouraged the prosecution, had no comment, spokeswoman Phuong Yokitis said from Washington.

The decision was only the latest setback for the entertainment industry in its efforts to discourage the digital distribution of its wares.

Last week, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor lifted an emergency stay that prohibited the posting of similar DVD decryption programs on the Internet.

And last March, a Dutch appeals court cleared copyright-infringement charges against KaZaA, a maker of computer software that lets people download music, movies and other copyright-protected material.

Mr. Johansen, now 19, became a folk hero to hackers, especially in the U.S., where a battle still rages over a 1998 copyright law that bans such software.

The short program Mr. Johansen wrote is just one of many readily available programs that can break the film industry's Content Scrambling System, which prevents illegal copying but also prevents the use of legitimate copies on unauthorized equipment.

Charges against Mr. Johansen were filed after Norwegian prosecutors received a complaint from the MPAA and the DVD Copy Control Association, the group that licenses CSS.

[pkd_lives]

Which means, in other words. If I purchase a DVD legally, then I have the right to view said DVD on any piece of MY eqipment. What's more I can Legally watch DVDs I have purchased Legally in other countries on my equipment.

Or at least Norway recognises it as such.

[ January 08, 2003: Message edited by: Linux Frank ]

[cahult]

I don

[choasforages]

unfourtantly, theis bastard orginizations are the "creators" of the material.

[Calum]

no. they are not.

they are the distributors of somebody else's creative efforts, but because the creators are skint and the distributors are not, they tend to buy as many of the creator's rights as possible using strongarm tactics, then using the same thuggery they try to squeeze as much money out of their new 'rights' as possible.

quote:Originally posted by cahult:
I don

[cahult]

so you do believe in copyright then. that's what it actually means, exactly what you just said.[/QB][/QUOTE]

Hehe, somewhat right. I don

[Doctor V]

quote:Originally posted by Linux Frank:
Which means, in other words. If I purchase a DVD legally, then I have the right to view said DVD on any piece of MY eqipment. What's more I can Legally watch DVDs I have purchased Legally in other countries on my equipment.

Or at least Norway recognises it as such.

[ January 08, 2003: Message edited by: Linux Frank ]

No, it dosn't.  Not unless you go to Norway that is.  Had DVD Jon been tried in the states he might just be in jail now.  And who do you think you are anyways, thinking you have a right to watch the DVD you bought on the computer you bought?  

[Calum]

in the states you only own the DVD's raw materials so in its purest form, the law prohibits you from actually viewing anything other than blank DVDs without the express permission of the distributor. Distributors of DVDs routinely grant you permission to watch the DVD, that's what all that crap is scrolling up at the start of movies and so on, but there's a lot of terms and conditions attached. That one about not showing the movie publicly could be legally interpreted to mean that you must watch the DVD on your own, for example, and stop watching it if somebody else enters the room.