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Jon Johansen Acquitted
Posted by James Grimmelmann on Tuesday, January 07 @ 10:31:40 EST Computer Crime
The teen who cracked the CSS encoding scheme for DVDs has been acquitted by a Norwegian court on charges of DVD piracy. His prosecution had been largely at the behest of the MPAA, which can't be very happy. However, under Norwegian law, prosecutors are allowed to appeal the verdict.
 
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Legal climate changing? (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 07 @ 12:08:44 EST
So, do the expert legal analysists at LawMeme see a change in the legal climate regarding the DMCA and such laws? We seem to be pulling in a few victories lately...


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I'm no expert, but . . . (Score: 1)
by JamesGrimmelmann on Tuesday, January 07 @ 12:33:24 EST
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.laboratorium.net
. . . no. This was a Norwegian prosecution, and the DMCA has never been law in Norway. One might read the verdict as part of a global trend towards common sense, but I'm not holding my breath.


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Re: Jon Johansen Acquitted (Score: 1)
by Helsinki on Wednesday, January 08 @ 07:48:37 EST
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Jon was tried under an older law, which does not have clear "dmca-like" clauses. This is of course a victory for Jon who was acquitted and does not have to go through life with a criminal record, but once Norway implements the EU Copyright Directive, this case - even if appealed and either affirmed or overturned - has very little relevance. The Copyright Directive prohibits distribution of software such as DeCSS and should Jon attempt something similar some years from now, he will quite likely be convicted.

otherwise sincere congratulations to Jon and his attorney.


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