Jon Johansen DVD Trial Date Set 289
mpawlo writes: "As reported by Greplaw, the Norweigan 'Byrett' (district court) will try the Jon Johansen DVD case on December 9, 2002. The trial was supposed to take place this summer, but the court decided to postpone the trial to find a technology savvy judge. The case will be tried
by one judge and a panel of two lay assessors. Jon Johansen is being prosecuted by the Norwegian Economic Crime Unit
(OKOKRIM) under Norwegian Criminal Code 145(2). Johansen created DeCSS
software that can enable DVD playback on Linux. It is argued that the DeCSS software is a piracy tool." Here is the Greplaw story with more links.
What? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's also a tool with legitimate usage.
The question is wether the law still counts when the tool has a reasonably legitimate use.
Congrats to the Norwegians for taking the time for a fair trial by a competant judge.
Legitimate Usage (Score:4, Insightful)
For a good deal of fair-use DVD software, DeCSS was a necessary step.
Case in point: Circumventing region restrictions. No way, no how are region restrictions in any way protected under copyright law. Neither is not playing the disk on the OS of your choice.
Even if you want to complain that he wrote code for Windows rather than Linux, here's an example from my own situation, since I use windows for media tools: For a long time, (until a firmware patch came out) my mobo would not support DMA to my DVD drive under Windows 2000. This means fairly slow access speed and jerky, out-of-sync playback in any of the good software DVD players for win32. By ripping the DVD to my harddisk, however, I can watch it at normal quality settings. Without DeCSS and rippers based on it, I wouldn't be able to do that.
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:3)
Distribution (Score:2)
The single disc is not being spread out or dispensed, it is simply being used.
Copyright denies me permission to make copys of that work (with certain exceptions) It does not preclude me from reading, burning, watching in reverse, fast forward, or feeding to a large chicken.
Re:Distribution (Score:2)
Re:Distribution (Score:2)
Um, no. When my friends from Europe come to visit, it would be great if they could bring some of their DVDs with them for us to watch. Oh, then can bring them... but unless I have a region-free player, we can't watch them. That's bullshit.
It's not really practical for them to bring a DVD player in the luggage.
-S
Re:Distribution (Score:2)
Same goes for DVDs. Content creators are not required to release their material without region encoding or copy-protection if they choose not to do so. If you want a translation, you'll have to buy the translation from the copyright holder. In this case it means you'll have to hope they offer a copy of the DVD in your region.
Same goes if you want to sell the DVD later on. Caveat Emptor (buyer beware). If the DVD is not offered in a region version you are capable of viewing, even if you purchased another region, you aren't entitled to "translate" the work.
Re:Distribution (Score:2)
If the DVD is not offered in a region version you are capable of viewing, even if you purchased another region, you aren't entitled to "translate" the work.
Why not? I bought it. I can burn it. I can piss on it. I can decorate my Christmas tree with it. I can sell it. And I can translate it.
-S
Re:Distribution (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh wait, because somebody bought the legislature...
Re:Distribution (Score:2)
Yes there is, and it's called fair use. If I buy a DVD, I have the right to play it on any DVD players in any country I want.
It's no different than buying the UK version of a Harry Potter and bringing it back to the U.S. to read. What if the publisher didn't want me to be able to do that? Too bad, he can't stop me.
Re:Distribution (Score:2)
Authors are not required to translate books into multiple languages
True
If they want to write their book in hieroglyphics they may do so and no one may translate the material
Untrue. If I happen to be able to read hieroglyphics, it is not copyright infringement if I translate the book while reading it aloud.
and distribute these translations.
True.
If somneone buys the book second hand (right of first sale), they can't violate the copyrights and translate
Untrue.
and distribute
True.
Content creators are not required to release their material without region encoding or copy-protection if they choose not to do so.
True.
If you want a translation, you'll have to buy the translation from the copyright holder. In this case it means you'll have to hope they offer a copy of the DVD in your region.
Untrue.
It is not illegal to own a hieroglyphics to english thesaurus. If I have the means to translate/transform the work to a format that is more suitable for me, I'm perfectly entitled to do so. However, In most situations I am not entitled to distribute that translation.
With regards to region coding - The MPAA isn't saying "you can't translate and distribute this work", they are saying "hand over your thesauruses, because we only want people that know hieroglyphics by heart to watch our work".
Re:Distribution (Score:3, Funny)
Yes, they can prohibit anything they want.
There is however no way to enforce this. I can prohibit you from wearing socks and sandals, doesn't mean I have any power for force you to comply.
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:3, Informative)
First, aren't there a relatively small number of regions? (8?) That doesn't make for very fine-grained control, plus, once the regions are set, you're stuck with them, so it can't be used to say "This release goes to countries A, B, and C, but this one goes to A and C and perhaps D but not B." Unless the industry knew exactly what regions would be needed for all time, this will not be a suitable solution.
Second, the region control ties it not to a specific country (could we have that technology-- perhaps, by putting a GPS in every player), but a specific set of players. If you're desperate enough to watch a Region X disc in Region Y, what stops you from importing a Region X player (and, if necessary, a compatible TV?) I believe this has been done occasionally to bridge the TV standard barrier with video tape.
Third, I may be mistaken, but isn't the region code not honoured by all players? I'm thinking some older players didn't handle it.
I feel like these people are trying to say "We locked the bank vault" when they applied duct tape and a shrinkwrap licence to the door.
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
They are only allowed to limit distribution within the bonds of the law.
First Sale - the exhaustion of the distribution right - is one of the largest limitations of the copyright holders power to control distribution.
Many countries have laws regarding parallel import, and they might apply for commercial import.
Trademark law might also apply for commercial import.
Licenses and contracts might also apply.
What is important to note, is that you - as a private person - are rarely affected by parallel import laws, trademark laws and contracts. Thus, you only have to care about First Sale in most situations. And First Sale is the exact opposite of "it's still the right of the copyright holder to limit distribution if they want".
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
Bzzzt, sorry, thanks for playing. Once I've purchased a piece of
copyrighted material (be it a book, cd, dvd, or something else), I'm free to
distribute the one, original, legal copy I have where I like. I can send it
off to my friend in Europe or Asia to enjoy. I can take it with me for my trip
to South America and watch it there. That's the right [bc.edu]
of first sale. Excepting is broken DMCA law, I'm free to disable region
coding.
Re: Legitimate ? No second sale here (Score:3, Informative)
[ or ] but once sold, the person can resell it or use it anywhere in the world that they like. When I buy a paperback book in europe, and fly home with it, customs doesn't wrestle me to the ground for distribution infringment
Er - no, incorrect. USA First Sale rights only apply in the USA, unfortunately.
Levi recently took the major UK supermarket to court in the UK to prevent them buying jeans legitimately in the USA and importing them, on copyright grounds. Levi won.
The reason individuals are not prosecuted, let alone wrestled to the ground, is simply that it is uneconomic. Sad but true.
This case may well end up illuminating Norwegian law only. The access was illegal because the DVD-movies were sold with the resctrictment that the user used only autorised playback equipment. The terms visible to a consumer at the time of purchase on my region 2 copy of Lord of the Rings does not contain such a clause, even in the bit you need a magnifying glass to read.
At least the publicity should move along the process of getting Hollywood back in their pram.
Re: Legitimate ? No second sale here (Score:2)
Levi claimed trademark infringement, not copyright infringement.
See EU Court of Justice, case C-414/99 [eu.int]
The "Levi's" and "501" trademarks in the UK are held by Levi Ltd, a UK company.
The court held that, by importing Levi jeans from the US, Tesco and Costco infringed on the trademarks held by Levi Ltd.
Re: Legit - will other EU laws protect Johansen ? (Score:2)
The bugbear is the same. That is, how the (non)exhaustion of rights at first sale and commercial import interact.
I am not fond of community exhaustion, as set forth in the EUCD. It sounds too much like creating a 'Festung Europa' for copyrighted works.
in about '94/'95 my boss at the time ordered laserdiscs from the US. They were stopped at the border because the discs hadn't come through the official release channels and weren't officially available in NZ.
That sounds like an example of parallel import laws.
can you tell us if the EU 'fair terms for consumers' directive applies in Norway?
The directive is 93/13/EEC [eu.int]
According [efta.int]to the EFTA Surveillance Authority database, this directive is implemented in Norway.
If the case against Jon Johansen initially stems from the resctrictment that the user used only autorised playback equipmen is it "reasonable" to claim a consumer is prohibited playing a legally purchased dvd on a linux box ?
_I_ would say that it is unreasonable.
Please note that the Økokrim indictment does not claim that a customer is contractually bound to only play DVDs on 'authorised' players. It claims that the DVDs were sold with the expectation that they would only be played on 'authorised' players.
I don't know what Økokrim is thinking, and to me it seems like they have an extremely weak case. After all - there is no contract. Once you buy a DVD record you should only be bound by copyright law regarding what you can or can't do with the content of that DVD.
A judge might not agree, though, and that scares me.
What would be your advice to his legal team?
Focus on two questions:
- The question of legitimate/illegitmate access. If you own a DVD, why would you not have legitimate access to the content?
- Ask the MPAA to show why some DVD players are more equal than others. That is - why are only DVDCCA-licensed players authorised to access DVDs? Why and how is it possible that the 'right to access' is attached to the DVD player and not to the DVD record?
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
Please cite chapter and verse of the law or court decitions that support this argument.
I might agree with you if you are talking about public performance of a work, but you are dead wrong if you are talking about selling physical copies of a work.
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
With - unfortunately - a few exceptions:
Many countries have parallel import laws. If someone holds an exclusive distribution right to a particular movie, book or other work in that country, 3rd parties are not allowed to to import the same goods from abroad for commercial purposes - i.e., resale. It is still, however, legal to import for personal use.
In the US, First Sale is Global First Sale. That is, once a physical copy of a work has been sold anywhere in the world, US copyright law considers the distribution right to that copy to be exhausted.
In EU (and EEA), the EU Copyright Directive will harmonise First Sale to "community exhaustion". That is, the distribution right has not been exhausted unless the First Sale happened inside the EU community, or the rightholder has explicitly allowed the work to be distributed in EU.
Re:EU directives (Score:2)
Norway is part of the EEA, and must unfortunately implement the brain damage that is the EU Copyright Directive in Norwegian law.
And as for the tiny percentage of us that are familiar with
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2, Informative)
Ved det beskrevne forhold brøt Jon Lech Johansen kopibeskyttelsen på DVD-filmene og skaffet seg og andre adgang til dataene på DVD-platene i ubeskyttet form. Adgangen var
uberettiget fordi DVD-filmene var solgt med forutsetning om at brukeren skulle
bruke autorisert avspillingsutstyr og respektere kopibeskyttelsen. Tilegnelsen av
filmene i ubeskyttet form har voldt skade fordi rettighetshaverne ikke lenger har vern
mot uberettiget spredning av filmene.
Roughly translated:
Jon Lech Johansen cracked the copy protection on the [his own] DVD-movies and got by this access to the data on the DVD-discs in an unprotected form. The access was illegal because the DVD-movies were sold with the resctrictment that the user used only autorised playback equipment and respected the copyright. The access of the movies in its unprotected form has done damage because the keepers of the copyright no longer has protection against unauthorised distribution of the movies.
I know the english is kind of scetchy right there, but it's not easy to translate norwegian law language on-the-fly..
It seems they're suing him because the DVDs were sold with one clause - that only authorised playback equipment were to be used during playback of the movies. In other words, you cannot access the data on your OWN DISCS by your own means.
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
Yeah...and the case is the same in the US under current law.
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
Yea, but you did a whole hell of a lot better than this site [worldlanguage.com]...
At least I hope you did better... otherwise the judge has his work cut out for him. Either that or Mr. Johansen is in big big trouble.
-S
Re:Legitimate Usage (Score:2)
The Prohibitionist Mind Set (Score:2)
Rather than punish those who cause harm, the "prohibitionist" tries to make the ability to do harm illegal.
The problem is that the most dangerous tool is the human mind and imagination. The prohibitionist cannot prohibit someone from having thoughts, so all that is left is to prohibit objects.
"Drugs" are a perfect example. The tighter the prohibitions, the greater the violence and reclessness of those who violate the prohibitions. As relatively peaceful people who inadvertantly violate the prohibition are "removed", those who remain are the ones who are not peaceful.
This is the same for all prohibitions, which is why they don't work.
By making it impossible to peacefully and easily view DVD's one has legally bought, it becomes more attractive to purchase illegal "cracked" copies which will be viewable. This will enrich the less ethical criminals at the cost of the legal producers, and do vastly greater damager to "society" than the relatively innocent peaceful "sharing" that would have happened otherwise.
Bob-
Re:What? (Score:2, Insightful)
You can copy DVD's just fine without DeCSS. Just go ask Hong Kong or Korea.
Re:What? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What? (Score:3)
Re:What? (Score:2, Insightful)
Even though it might be easy to do it the way you're describing, it would still take significantly longer to rip it, and the fact is no one does it that way.
I'm not trying to say anything one way or the other about what this should mean about the legality of this, I'm just telling you how people who actually rip DVDs do it.
Re:What? (Score:2)
Trading != piracy.
At least, not my opinion. I define piracy as the copying of a copyrighted work for monetary profit. Since trading does not fit this description, I think the law should make some sort of distinction between the two terms.
Re:What? (Score:3, Insightful)
Right, dd is the copying tool (Score:2)
Outlaw dd.
(and it's only piracy if you run through the clerk at a floating BlockBuster as you're getting the source dvd)
Re:What? (Score:2)
That's too negative. It's not a piracy tool any more than a hammer is a murder tool.
Instead, it's a tool with legitimate usage, but it also can be used for piracy.
-S
DeCSS piracy: A true story (Score:2)
In fact, this spring I was sailing peacefully in my boat at the North Sea, when I was approached by a wooden ship sailing under a skull and bones flag. When it reached my, my boat was boarded by a wild looking one eyed man with a large beard and a hook instead of one hand. Before I could react, he demanded all my possesions, and threatened to play a Spice World DVD for me on a portable computer running Linux unless I complied immediately. When I pointed out that the DVD was encoded and wouldn't be playable on his computer, he just laughed and showed me the DeCSS source. At that point, I had no other options than to comply.
So DeCSS is obviously a piracy tool.
Some claim it can be used for unauthorized copying as well.
Re:What? (Score:2)
Oh really? Has anyone *ever* used DeCSS to produce
a digital copy of comparable quality to the original
which was subsequently distributed in violation of
copyright law applicable in Norway under the Berne
Convention?
I sincerely doubt it.
Re:What? (Score:2)
Go one step further: Hands, feet,..., can be used for illegal activities. For practical reasons it is only the use, not the
posession that is illegal.
On the other hand, if creating DeCss is ruled illegal, we can expect easy to crack encryption on future DVD successors. Somebody that can break them should also know a way to distribute this stuff without getting caught...
Re:What? (Score:2)
The problem is that this logic does not apply under American law. And its very possible that it might not under Norwegian, either. Though this case may be aimed at stating that it does, in which case Norway's going to be high on my list of places to move to if the current situation in North America continues deteriorating. ;)
Re:What? (Score:2)
Sorry, that logic doesn't work in America, and it shouldn't work under Norwegian law either. If I don't sign a negotiable contract whose terms I can examine before I lay down my money in exchange for the disc, then they've got no legal hold on me. I'd hope the same applies under Norwegian law.
Or didn't, before the DMCA. Now they very well might.
Re:What? (Score:2)
Have you ever looked at a DVD? They don't. At least, not in readable text on the outside of the packaging. And because of this, despite what the MPAA might state, there is no contract when I lay down my money to purchase it. Implied or otherwise. Just like there's no contract requiring me to watch advertising when I sit down to watch TV.
Software EULAs also are not legally binding. They are contracts, and thus cannot be legally binding without a signature. (As opposed to, say, the GPL, where if you don't accept its terms, you default to the rights provided by copyright law, which do not allow for modification or redistribution) There are numerous books analyzing this, the best I've seen is The Software Conspiracy, by Mark Minasi. (If you can find a copy, that is.)
Re:What? (Score:2)
It seems like DVD's are sold with the requirement that it only is to be playbacked on authorised equipment.
145 in the Norwegian Penal Code was originally a paragraph that made it illegal to open letters in order to gain illegitimate access to information.
It was later extended to also cover typical "hacker[1] crimes". Typically, breaking into a server to gain illegitimate access to data.
In order to be convicted by 145, you have to break a protection (which DeCSS arguably does), and get illegitimate access to data by doing so.
The entire case hinges on the question whether it is legitimate or not to gain access to the cleartext of a DVD movie that is in my physical possession.
Økokrim claims that it is illegitimate because the movies were sold with the expectation that they would only be played on "authorised"[2] DVD players. An interesting - in the chinese meaning of the word - claim, to say the least.
[1] I know the difference between hacker/cracker.
[2] One unexplored issue wrt DVD players is exactly where this authorisation comes from. That is - by what right can a movie studio claim that their movies are only allowed to be played on players produced by manufacturers that have signed the DVDCCA license? It is even more complicated than this because of DVD manufacturing plants, different subsidiaries of movie companies releasing movies for different regions, etc.
Re:What? (Score:2)
Oh, I wish that was the truth.
The supreme court ruling was very close (5-4), and - as far as I remember - evidence from studies showed that at least 20% of the taping was legitimate.
Even with 20%+ legitimate use, it was a close call. We might not be this lucky next time.
Re:What? (Score:2)
There are three s in Norwegian Penal Code that might apply here.
145a covers eavesdropping equipment. It is illegal to use tape recorders or similar to eavesdrop.
262 makes it illegal to manufacture, sell, import or own devices which makes it possible to gain unauthorised access to pay-services like pay-TV. In other words, pirate decoder cards.
Jon's indictment is based on 145.
145 covers breaking a protection in order to gain illegitimate access to data. That is - it is the act of breaking that is covered, not devices used for breaking. Breaking a protection is not illegal if you are entitled access to the data.
145 also makes it illegal to assist in breaking a protection, and Økokrim claims that he has assisted by making DeCSS available.
Err.... (Score:2)
OKOKRIM sounds more like it should be estblished in a prison, not a crime unit. Ick.
Re:Err.... (Score:2)
Re:Err.... (Score:2)
Links (Score:5, Informative)
Read the indictment. [nanocrew.net] in Norwegian.
Linux World interview [linuxworld.com] with Johansen.
Swedish coverage [www.digi.no] of the case.
EEF campaign [eff.org] to free Johansen.
Old slashdot article [slashdot.org] about original indictment.
wow, irony is heavy in here... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:wow, irony is heavy in here... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:wow, irony is heavy in here... (Score:2)
This it technically true, but for all practical purposes it might as well be false.
If the only way to view an encrypted DVD were with a licensed DVD player, and all licensed players respected region codes, then there'd be no way to view a region coded disc outside of the region for which it was coded!
The existence of DeCSS allows the creation of unlicensed players of encrypted discs. These unlicensed players may ignore the region code, allowing a disc to be played outside of its intended region. In this way, DeCSS and region coding are very mutch intertwined.
DeCSS was THREE people (Score:5, Informative)
As Jon Johansen put it himself in an old interview: [linuxworld.com]
Jon Johansen: I'm 16 now, I was 15 when it happened
LinuxWorld: The other two people that you had worked with to make the player are remaining anonymous -- is that right?
Jon Johansen: Yes, that is correct.
LinuxWorld: Do you know why they want to remain anonymous?
Jon Johansen: They are both a lot older than me, and they are employed. So I guess they just didn't want the publicity, and they were perhaps afraid of getting fired.
Original Trial meaningless. (Score:2, Insightful)
I wonder (Score:2, Insightful)
2. if they do find his code used for piracy why would they not find VCRs, analog cables, DVD drives, and computers to be piracy tools also.
2a. if they find pirated material created with his code, and are able to prove it, why wouldn't they go after the actual pirates rather than going after him. Because his code does have other non-pirate uses.
Re:I wonder (Score:2)
A) They tried to (see Universal V. Sony, 1984) but couldn't...
B) They couldn't, since such would require making all wiring illegal (anyone can jury rig an RCA patch cable)...
C)They can and are, since they can pretty much buy any congressman they want to...
Instead of slammin Jon for making DVD's playable (Score:2)
I still don't see how they have a case, he never profitted from his efforts (other than he might have gotten a job interview for creating DeCSS)
We wouldn't have this problem if mother teresa ran the record companies. The RIAA wants to eat your grandparents and prevent you from making legitimate backups of them.
Re:Instead of slammin Jon for making DVD's playabl (Score:4, Funny)
if mother teresa ran the record companies, all we would hear is shitty local bands that she gave all the airplay to cause they were 'nice boys'.
Re:Instead of slammin Jon for making DVD's playabl (Score:2)
WTF happened to LinDVD? I would be more than willing to BUY a piece of software to legally play my DVDs under Linux.
As long as this absurd situation exists, there will be people breaking this absurd law to play the DVDs they bought with their own money. Millione di grazie, Don Valenti. I _won't_ kiss your fsckn ring.
Re:Instead of slammin Jon for making DVD's playabl (Score:2)
Re:Instead of slammin Jon for making DVD's playabl (Score:2)
Hell, DVD playing is what drove me full time to Linux from my Windows/Linux dual boot. After re-imaging, I couldn't reinstall the DVD player because it didn't think it was going on the computer I bought. Ain't copy protection lovely?
Re:*SIGH* (Score:2, Informative)
Re:*SIGH* (Score:2)
Point is, linux had a sizable market share when this entire shennanigan began. It would have been in the DVD makers best interest to have a player availiable for the system.
It is sad (Score:2, Insightful)
Proud owner of a DeCSS shirt from copyleft.net
Jon Johansen's Age (Score:4, Interesting)
Something interesting I noticed about the timing for this case, that struck me as odd... When Jon was arrested two years ago, he was sixteen. He was, I believe, a minor under Norwegian law, and the charges were dropped. He is now eighteen, if my math is correct, and possibly older. Is this past the age of legal majority in Norway? And if so, could this be part of the motive for delaying the trial?
After all, they probably wouldn't be able to get much of a penalty against an underaged individual who wasn't even the primary coder and who has stated many times that he wishes his code to be used as part of a DVD player. However, now that he's older, they might be able to get stiffer penalties. Or at the very least, get a black mark on his permanent record and make it much harder for him to get into a good college/university or get a good job.
Remember, Johansen is being made an example of. The MPAA is trying to say "screw with our monopoly and we'll do this to you". They, of course, want this example to be as effective as possible.
At the very least, everyone reading this article (especially those of you in Norway!) should support Johansen however possible. Donate money, organize protests, publicize his case. Make it a hot-button emotional issue. Make it clear that we just want to play DVDs, make it clear to people that the MPAA doesn't want them to import movies from another country and watch them before the approved-from-on-high release date, or buy at a cheaper price from the next country over.
Good luck to you, Jon! I remember being shocked back in 2000, when you got arrested on nothing more than the say-so of the DVD CCA for releasing a simple program that did nothing more than read data. I'm shocked that the MPAA's still persecuting you. I hope you can prove your innocence and strike a blow for the right to use generic computing technologies.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Does not work that way. It is the age he did the crime at that counts, not the age he is tried at. They probably cannot do much in punishing him.
However if the court finds hin guilty, that sets the pretext for any civilian procceedings into compensation for lost profit...
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Ahhhh. And there are now two years worth of "lost" profits for the MPAA to point their fingers at?
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Good point. Makes sense to me.
Although I am not sure the MPAA could delay a Norwegian court.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
They got him arrested in the first place with no more than a letter. I'm sure that they or their European division could arrange for some legal distraction or technicality. Though I'm also being unnecessarily pessimistic - the Norwegians could have simply been wanting to avoid having another Kaplan blindly sign off on whatever the industry shoves under their noses.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Besides, There isn't a chance in hell that they'll ever see the kind of money that they would call a month of losses. This kid probably won't make that much money in his whole life.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Yes, but they don't care about that. They want control. So they ignore those people, and instead point to the much smaller group who've been downloading movies that they'll claim were ripped with DeCSS. (Never mind all the other tools out there that do it without going near DeCSS...)
How one can prove lost profits is still beyond me. "We made less money than our projections showed"? "Less than 100% of the population bought our product"? "More people bought this product from some indie studio?"
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Depends. In Germany, e.g., you can be taken to trial from the age of 14 up. But sentences are different (much lower) than for adults. And not every crime is punishable. Depends on the exact age. However you can always be taken to trial to determine what the exact crime was. And if you are under 14 years, your parents can be taken to trial.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2, Funny)
Sigh...when are people going to get a clue? Releasing a simple program that did nothing more than read data? Come on, are we really supposed to believe this shit. I mean, I guess that means people must go to jail everyday for simply putting the laws of Newton to work, right? They were just using a chunk of metal to propel an object through the air. It's not really their fault that the other person died from a bullet wound...
Trying to dilute a (perceived) crime into it's most basic elements is pointless. You end up glossing over the fact that someone did something (allegedly) illegal. If someone hacks a large website, their not really guilty, right? They just sent some packets over a network, no harm done. Uh-huh...sure.
I'm not saying I necessarily agree with what's going on, but I can certainly see where the other side is coming from. If all you can see is "a simple program that [reads] data", then you need to open your eyes to the bigger picture.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:4, Insightful)
Diluting the percieved crime is the best way to find the parties who are most culpable. The people who are at fault in this case are the ones who _pirate_ the movie and use the tool that John wrote for non-legal purposes, not those people who want to watch a dvd on their damn linux box. What this kid did was not (or should not be) illegal. What people are using his tool for is illegal. You can't imprison someone for creating something that "might" be used for illegal purposes, if their intent and wish for developing that tool was for something that should be perfectly legal. (watching a DVD that you purchased with your own money).
Diluting this issue is exactly what should be done, because we don't charge gunsmiths with murder. (Even though guns see their most widest use in killing people)
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2, Interesting)
the only way this software could be used illegally is to copy a dvd into another format (say divx) and send to a friend (or no friend for that matter).
No one would use this software to make dvd's of it - the resulting image wouldn't play on a dvd.
I think this is an important distinction.
More important, however, is that *at the time* there was no other way to play dvd's on linux boxes. Nothing in us law (that i'm aware of) says that the mpaa should have control of both the media *and* the players.
My guess (hope?) is this would have never come up if they had released a linux player.
Course an even bigger issue is that fact that never before has *code* been illegal - only the wrongful use of it. I'm sad to see this change...
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
"(Even though guns see their most widest use in killing people)"
Why on earth would you ruin a perfectly good argument by pulling some bullshit, completely false, bogus statistic (or merely statement) out of your ass?
Guns see their widest use in the capacity in which they were originally designed for. Hunting.
-Tommy
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Were you trying to be funny?
Guns are most often used for non-hunting sport. Clay shooting, benchrest rifle, pistol drills, turkey shoot (the turkey is a target, I mean the target is a target, I mean a piece of paper.. blah, I mean no animals die in the process
Shooting for sport far outweighs hunting in almost every gun related way.
I hope the anti-gun people can see that restricting guns is the equivalent to the gun people trying to restrict the ownership and use of inflated pigskins, or golf clubs (or as they are known on the street, cop clubbers). It's just a piece of sporting equipment in many cases.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Read here [physsportsmed.com]
61 fatalities directly due to high school and college football from 1982-1996. 115 deaths from exertion due to playing football during the same period.
That's almost 200 kids that would be alive today if football was banned. The answer is obvious. If it saves just one life, we must ban football.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
I mean jeeze, when I was a kid, I got drunk a lot before the whole zero tolerance thing, before I was legal age for drinking, and gave booze to my similarly underaged friends... Does that mean I should go to jail for corruption of minors (including myself)? That's just plain stupid, for lack of a better description...
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Interviewer: Have you ever been convicted of a major crime?
Jon: Actually yes.
Interviewer: startled Oh? For what, may I ask?
Jon: Well, um, remember DeCSS? Well, I wrote it.
Interviewer: Wait a minute... Jon Johansen? Well, I suppose there's no question about your skills...
Since it's such a high profile case, it probably won't negatively affect his employment opportunities.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
You should be right - the fact that he wrote DeCSS in the first place might have a positive affect - in inteverviews with techies. But most interviews are done by management, so maybe not so much help there.
The more important issue is that in many countries, a criminal record is an automatic bar to obtaining the security clearance necessary to work on defence (military) contracts. That potentially rules out a lot of jobs. It might also make it much harder (or even impossible) for him to obtain the visas necessary to work abroad.
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Want to bet that if the movie industry wins, the first thing they're going to push for is barring Johansen from employment in the technology field? After all, he is an Evil Terrorist Hacker!(TM)
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
Re:Jon Johansen's Age (Score:2)
I don't think such a mark would have that large significance. Here in Finland (and I believe it to be quite similar in Norway), colleges or universities can't pick students based on reputation (I'm not sure how it is in the US, at least you imply that they can). There may be some other routes with interviews etc, but the vast majority get in though tests. The ones with the highest marks get in.
Also, I doubt very many employers check any criminal records. (I'm not sure can they check them either, I doubt it.) And as someone said, it's also a good show of your skills.
What it might make difficult would be getting some state jobs relating to security (defence ministry, police, etc), and maybe getting credit cards, and of course getting a visa to the US, for example. But I doubt very much that they can set a "black mark" on someone that has really large effect.
I don't speak norweigan (Score:2)
I mean, a piracy tool that does not do anything doesn't make sense. I realize that the real issue is that the MPAA wants to control the format of distribution, but I'm interested in how the prosecution is arguing this case.
The only thing I can think of, is that you could better compress the decoded disk and then make it viable for download? Is this true? Does norweigan law specify exactly what a piracy tool is? Obviously a CD burner could be a piracy tool too, so how do they make the distinction in the law between a device that can be used for many things including piracy, and a piracy device? I hope it isn't exclusively prosecutorial discretion.
I speak Norwegian (Score:2, Informative)
Jon Johansen is tried (translation:) "for having broken a protection or in a similar fashion gotten access to data that are stored or are transferred by electronical or other technical means and for having caused damage by appropriation or use of such knowledge, or complicity to this." (Yes, this translation sucks. I'm tired.)
The case is in two parts: he breaks a protection, which gives him access to a work that he has bought the right to access. I think the judges will understand this, but Økokrim seems to think otherwise: "The access is unauthorised because the DVDs were sold under the condition that the users should use authorised playback equipment and respect the copy protection." Personally, I know of no such condition.
The other part is whether he caused any damage by spreading information on CSS and the DeCSS program itself. (This part has been added in the new incitement.) Obviously, DeCSS has made DVD piracy a lot easier, but, as you say, so has CD-recorders. If Jon Johansen in considered to be an "accomplice to piracy", so should Plextor and all good ISPs.
Oh well. I need some sleep now.
Arranging Court Protest in Norway (Score:2)
Regards
Mikael
Court room transcript (Score:5, Funny)
JOHANSEN: No, Your Honor, it cannot be. I don't think much of our profession, but, contrasted with respectability, it is comparatively honest. No, Your Honor, I shall live and die a Pirate King.
(SONG -- PIRATE KING)
JOHANSEN: Oh, better far to live and die
Under the flightless bird I fly,
Than play a corporate raider's part
With a pirate head and a pirate heart.
Away to the cheating world go you,
Where pirates all are well-to-do;
But I'll be true to the song I sing,
And live and die a Pirate King.
For I am a Pirate King!
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!
For I am a Pirate King!
SLASHDOTTERS:You are!
Hurrah for the Pirate King!
JOHANSEN:And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King.
SLASHDOTTERS:It is!
Hurrah for the Pirate King!
(Inserted to avoid lameness filter.)
Hurrah for the Pirate King!
JOHANSEN:When I sally forth to seek my prey
I help myself in a royal way.
I rip a few more flicks, it's true,
Than a well-bred hacker ought to do;
But many a hack with a first-class clone,
If he wants to call his warez his own,
Must manage somehow to get through
More lines of code than e'er I do,
For I am a Pirate King!
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!
For I am a Pirate King!
SLASHDOTTERS:You are!
Hurrah for the Pirate King!
JOHANSEN:And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King.
SLASHDOTTERS:It is!
Hurrah for the Pirate King!
(the lameness filter, to avoid, inserted.)
Hurrah for the Pirate King!
(exeunt.)
This is the type of thing that make me afraid (Score:2, Insightful)
I mean, this is not just some minor licensing issues or whatever. People are actually trying to put other people in jail for writing software that enables people wo watch DVD:s they have payed for. That's exactly what's happening - why can't the people adovacting this crap see that?
*sigh*
Re:This is the type of thing that make me afraid (Score:2)
Good luck Jon (Score:4, Interesting)
In the ensuing two and a half years I've become increasingly radicalised (in the geek sense: I had a flirtation with "IRL" politics for a few years in my late teens/early 20s and lost interest pretty thoroughly after that.) In retrospect, this event was the first time I made a small gesture [demon.co.uk] of public support for the freedoms we all consider so important. The reaction to it, whilst amusing, has given me a different perspective on matters which previously seemed unconnected: the importance of the GPL, for instance, the reasons *why* the DMCA is just the tip of an iceberg...
The only moral to my anecdote is this: where's *your* mirror of deCSS? Mine's still there [demon.co.uk] =)
As stated before... (Score:2, Informative)
He's already served his purpose. He took the rap. The mpaa was looking for a scapegoat anyways......
decess piracy? (Score:2)
Re:Technology savvy judge (Score:2)
Re:one word (Score:2)
Re:one word (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:At last... (Score:3, Funny)
Ahh yes, the most excellent Mum Linux 2000. I hear it is highly compatible with most Mum's and will easily install over the old Mum OS via UCB (Universal Cerebral Bus).
Plus, it's Debian based!!! Yeah!! dpkg -i breakfast.deb !!
Re:At last... (Score:2)
it's true (Score:3, Funny)
How do you expect them to make a quality product if they can't earn a living selling it?
You are so right. DVD piracy is out of control, and Hollywood producers are out in the streets starving. I saw Steven Spielberg just the other day sitting on a corner wearing a $4000 suit with a sign that said "Will Direct for Food." And I saw Michael Eisner eating oysters at McCormick and Schmick's and he only ordered a $50 bottle of wine! Can you imagine? I swear I saw him wince with agony when he took the first sip. These poor poor men, and it's all the fault of you Linux zealots with your theftware on T-shirts!!