[ILUG] DVD encryption cracked???

[foley]

although i havent kept up-to-date on the DVD side,
this seems to be interesting.


>>>> clipping from email

You may be aware of Norway's decision to press charges against Jon
Johansen, a teenager who cracked DVD encryption so that DVDs could be
played by software on the GNU/Linux platform. Perhaps you could please
spare some time to write a letter or two similar to those below.
Colin Paul Gloster
/////////////////////////
Royal Norwegian Embassy,
Hainault House,
34 Molesworth St.,
Dublin 2.
/////////////////////////
Kjell Magne Bondevik,
P.0. Box 8001 Dep,
0030 Oslo,
Norway.
/////////////////////////
Dear Prime Minister Bondevik

I am outraged that Norway has laid charges against Jon Johansen for
helping to develop free software to read DVDs.

The encoding of DVDs was designed to give a few big companies control over
what we, the public, do with *DVDs that we buy*. It was,designed to stop
us even from using them in the ways that copyright law says we are
entitled to use them. I am grateful to Jon Johansen and his coworkers for
prying loose the secret that was meant to restrict the public.

If the Norwegian government thinks human rights are more important than
copyrights it should drop the charges against Jon Johansen now, and give
him a medal for service to the public beyond the call of duty,

//////////////////////////
Let me protest against Norway's decision to press charges against Jon
Johansen for helping to develop free (non-proprietary) software to read
DVDs, software for an operating system (GNU/Linux, better known as simply
Linux) lacking support for DVD reading beforehand.

The Directive of the Council of European Communities on the legal
protection of computers dated 14 May 1991 explicitly authorises reverse
engineering for the purpose of making a setup compatible under certain
conditions. In particular: if the necessary information to achieve
interoperability is not already available.

The encoding of DVDs gives a few big companies the ability to unfairly
restrict the public's use of legally paid for DVDs. The encoding can stop
the public from even using DVDs in the ways that copyright laws say we are
entitled to use them. There are those who are grateful to Jon Johansen and
his coworkers for prying loose this secret restricting the public and who
think that the Norwegian government should drop the charges against Jon
Johansen now and give him a medal for service to the public beyond the
call of duty.