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Closing arguments of Norway's DeCSS case

Written by Petteri Pyyny @ 16 Dec 2002 3:11 User comments (3)

Closing arguments of Norway's DeCSS case

The trial Norway vs Jon Johansen ended today with both sides delivering their closing arguments to the court. Prosecution is seeking $1,400 in court fees, three-month probation sentence and taking Johansen's computers away from him.
Johansen's attorney, Halvor Manshaus, said Johansen had to copy DVD movies to test the DeCSS software. Manshaus called copying a few bits of DVD data no different from copying parts of an encyclopedia for studying later.

Johansen said in his testimony that he owns almost 200 original DVDs, each costing appx. $35 in Norway and said that he has only used those movies that he owns to test the DeCSS software, that allows breaking the weak copy-protection found on DVD-Video discs, called CSS.

Manhaus also argued that the DVDs were copyprotected by technical methods, but not protected by Norwegian law. Johansen is accused of breaking into a computer system -- in this case, into a DVD that he owns.



The verdict in the case is expected in beginning of January, 2003.

Sources:

Aftenposten
Reuters/Yahoo!
Associated Press/Yahoo!

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3 user comments

116.12.2002 20:56

I think I will be very surrised if "they" manage to win this one. And if they do, we´ll all be screaming "conspiracy"!

217.12.2002 05:09
Odyssey
Inactive

I'm starting to scream

318.12.2002 00:03

There'a a bald spot on the side of my head where I pulled all the hair out. -- Mike --

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