Jari Ketola
6 Dec 2002 15:01
Jon Lech Johansen, also known as 'DVD Jon', goes to court next week in Oslo, Norway.
Johansen co-authored DeCSS, the software which makes it possible to bypass the CSS copy-protection used on most DVD-Video discs. Norwegian prosecutors, the MPAA, and the DVD Copy Control Association claim that the software can contribute to illegal copying of DVDs. It's basically about consumer right versus the authors' rights to control the content of their product.
Professor Olav Torvund, a law professor at the University of Oslo, says that the case is weak. In his view all that Johansen did was broke into a product that he had bought and thus owned. It's like buying a car, picking it's lock, and then being sued by the car manufacturer. Torvund says that the industry is trying to shove the consumer rights aside by setting technical barriers on the product. Copying videos for personal use is perfectly legal in Norway, as it is in most countries around the world. All Johansen ever did was spread the information on how to open the DVDs using something else than an expensive DVD-player.
Source:
Aftenposten