[Discussioni] Newsscan: DeCSS

[Francesco Potorti`]

SUPREME COURT BACKS OFF ON DVD DESCRAMBLING CODE
The U.S. Supreme Court has rescinded an emergency stay barring defendant 
Matthew Pavlovich from distributing DeCSS, a software utility that 
descrambles the digital lock on most DVDs to prevent copying them. 
Pavlovich is now free to distribute the code, but could be sued again if he 
decides to do so. "The entertainment companies need to stop pretending that 
DeCSS is a secret," says Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic 
Frontier Foundation, which is assisting Pavlovich. "Justice O'Connor 
correctly saw that there was no need for emergency relief to keep DeCSS a 
secret. It doesn't pass the giggle test." The rescission is just the latest 
twist in a case that has been winding its way through the courts since 
1999, when the DVD Copy Control Association -- a coalition of movie studios 
and consumer electronics makers -- filed a lawsuit against scores of 
people, alleging violations of California's trade secret laws. (CNet 
News.com 3 Jan 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-979197.html?tag=fd_top