Petteri Pyyny
10 Jan 2002 13:45
Norwegian author of DeCSS program, Jon Johansen, might face upto 2 years in prison, it emerged yesterday. He was originally arrested in 1999 because of the DeCSS program, but nobody couldn't figure out what law he was exactly breaking by writing a software that decrypts the CSS copy-protection found from DVD-Video discs (no, Norway doesn't have DMCA or anything similiar).
Now, under extreme pressure from Hollywood studios, someone has finally figured out how they can sue Johansen -- Norway's economic crime unit accuses that he tried to break through a security system to gain access to material he's not entitled to, in this case a movie on DVD. This law is originally meant for hackers who break into bank's computer systems and steal information -- but all the DVDs that Johansen used were his own and now they're saying that he's not entitled to the content of those discs?
"It did come as quite a surprise," said Robin Gross, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF has been helping Johansen with the case since 1999.
And of course we all remember that DeCSS itself doesn't even work for movies released after January 2000.