Volume II

Issue : 5: March 4, 2004

• ICANN Faces Suits over Internet Domain Name Regulatory Practices
• Microsoft Brings Its Battle with Lindows to Canada
• U.S. Federal Trade Commission Levies Fines under the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act
• California Appeals Court Reverses Order Prohibiting Internet Publication of DVD-Cracking Code
• FDA Sends Warning to Minnesota over its Prescription Drug Website
• Texas Doctor Sentenced to Jail for Prescribing over the Internet
• District Court Enjoins Manufacture and Distribution of DVD copying software
• U.S. Do-Not-Call Registry Does Not Violate the First Amendment
• U.S. Court Rules Extraction of Data by American Company from a Canadian Companys Online Database Does Not Violate DMCA
• UK High Court Asserts Jurisdiction in Internet Libel Case
• U.S. Supreme Court Rules No Recovery against Government for Privacy Act Violations without Actual Damages
• Supreme Court of Canada Rules Law Society's Photocopying Policy Does Not Violate Copyright Law

Home > Volume II > Issue 5: March 4, 2004 > California Appeals Court Reverses Order Prohibiting Internet Publication of DVD-Cracking Code

California Appeals Court Reverses Order Prohibiting Internet Publication of DVD-Cracking Code

The California Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a trial judge's 1999 injunction prohibiting the publication of a code called DeCSS, which can bypass the DVD encryption technology that hampers copying and prevents discs from playing on unauthorized machines. The plaintiff, the DVD Copy Control Association, had been granted the injunction against the defendant, Andrew Bunner, after arguing that Bunner had violated its trade secret rights by posting DeCSS on the Internet. Bunner had argued that by the time DeCSS was posted on his website, it was no longer a trade secret. The appeals court agreed, stating that the injunction "burdens more speech than necessary to protect DVD CCA's property interest and was an unlawful prior restraint upon Bunner's right to free speech.

For a copy of the decision, visit:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20040227_Decision.pdf
For more information, visit:
http://news.com.com/2100-1026_3-5166887.html