[ILUG] copyright law in ireland...

[Garret]

> Chapter 13
> 
> Offences Copyright
> 
> 140. (4) A person who
> 
> (b) provides any service, or offers or performs any service, intended to
> enable or assist a person to circumvent rights protection measures
> 
> shall be guilty of an offence.
> 

I think this mainly relates to pirate cable and satellite decryption
boxes.

With regards to linux DVD players .I *think* it maybe ok , 
rights protection measures are there only there to uphold the copyright
laws. 
not to grant copyright holders extra powers not covered by the law.

: ``rights protection measure'' means any process, treatment, mechan-
: ism or system which is designed to prevent or inhibit the unauthor-
: ised exercise of any of the rights conferred by this Act;

So it would follow that if you are not doing anything that is not
unauthorised by the law then it should be ok.

If this is ture then use your rights under 'fair dealing' allow you to
play it on linux.

: 50.-(1) Fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic
: work, sound recording, film, broadcast, cable programme, or non-
: electronic original database, for the purposes of research or private
: study, shall not infringe any copyright in the work.


-Garret




P.S. These are just my thoughts on the matter and maybe wrong.  so don't
bank on anything I said as being correct.