[free-sklyarov] Re: EFF: Norwegians Indict Teen Who Published Code Liberating DVDs

Thu Jan 10 16:54:51 PST 2002

Okay.

Then:

*Free Jon Johansen!*

Seth Johnson

Henry Schwan wrote:
> 
> For anyone who hasn't heard.
> 
> --
> Regards,
> 
> Henry Schwan
> Paralegal
> Electronic Frontier Foundation
> (415)436-9333 x114
> (415)436-9993 (fax)
> owlswan at eff.org
> 
> "No government is respectable which is not just. Without unspotted
> purity of public faith, without sacred public principle, fidelity,
> and honor, no machinery of laws, can give dignity to political
> society."
>                 -- Daniel Webster
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 13:04:07 -0800
> From: Will Doherty <wild at eff.org>
> 
> Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
> 
> For Immediate Release: January 10, 2002
> 
> Contact:
> 
> Robin Gross
>    Intellectual Property Attorney
>    Electronic Frontier Foundation
>    robin at eff.org
>    +1 415 436-9333 x112 (office), +1 415 637-5310 (cell)
> 
> Cindy Cohn
>    Legal Director
>    Electronic Frontier Foundation
>    cindy at eff.org
>    +1 415 436-9333 x108
> 
> Norwegians Indict Teen Who Published Code Liberating DVDs
> 
> U.S. Entertainment Industry Pressured Norwegian Prosecutors
> 
> Oslo, Norway - Acting years after pressure from the U.S.
> entertainment industry, the Norwegian government yesterday
> indicted teenager Jon Johansen for his role in creating
> software that permits DVD owners to view DVDs on players
> that are not approved by the entertainment industry.
> 
> On January 9, 2002, the Norwegian Economic Crime Unit
> (ØKOKRIM) charged Jon Johansen for creating software called
> DeCSS in 1999 when he was 15 years old.
> 
> "Johansen shouldn't be prosecuted for breaking into his own
> property," said Robin Gross, staff attorney at the
> Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "Jon simply wanted to
> view his own DVDs on his Linux machine."
> 
> "Although prosecutors in Norway failed to defend the rights
> of their citizens against Hollywood’s unprecedented
> demands, we are confident that neither the Norwegian people
> nor their justice system will allow this charge to stand,"
> added EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "The movie studios
> have used intellectual property rights to silence
> scientists, and censor journalists. Now, they are declaring
> war on their customers."
> 
> Johansen's indictment comes more than two years after the
> Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) initally
> contacted ØKOKRIM prosecutors to request a criminal
> investigation of the Norwegian teen and his father, Per
> Johansen, who owned the equipment on which the DeCSS
> software was posted.
> 
> Johansen originally published DeCSS as part of the open
> source development project LiVID (Linux Video) in building
> a DVD player for the Linux operating system. The MPAA CSS
> licensing entity, named DVD-CCA, refuses to license CSS to
> projects such as LiVID, which is an open source project
> collaborating on the Web to build interoperable software
> tools. LiVID's independently created DVD player software
> would compete with the movie studio monopoly on DVD players
> while offering more consumer friendly features.
> 
> DeCSS also enables people to exercise their fair use
> rights with DVD movies, like fast-forwarding through
> commercials or copying for educational purposes.
> 
> In January 2000, Johansen won the prestigious "Karoline
> Prize" for his DeCSS software innovation. This national
> prize is awarded yearly to a Norwegian high school
> student with excellent grades who makes a significant
> contribution to society outside of school.
> 
> ØKOKRIM Chief Prosecutor Inger Marie Sunde indicted
> Johansen, who recently turned 18, for violating Norwegian
> Criminal Code section 145(2), which outlaws breaking into
> another person’s locked property to gain access to data
> that one is not entitled to access.
> 
> Johansen's prosecution marks the first time the Norwegian
> government has attempted to punish individuals for
> accessing their own property. Previously, the government
> used this law only to prosecute those who violated
> someone else's secure system, like a bank or telephone
> company system, in order to obtain another person's records.
> 
> Norwegian prosecutors did not indict Per Johansen, but
> his son Jon Johansen could face two years in prison if
> convicted.
> 
> MPAA also requested ØKOKRIM charge Johansen with
> contributory copyright infringement; however prosecutors
> declined. Johansen’s trial could start before summer 2002.
> 
> On November 1, 2001, the California Court of Appeal for
> the 6th District unanimously overturned a lower court's
> injunction that banned the publication of DeCSS on trade
> secret grounds, citing the First Amendment rights of
> individuals to independently obtain or derive information
> claimed to be a trade secret by DVD-CCA.
> 
> In another legal case to outlaw DeCSS, brought under U.S.
> federal law, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York
> recently upheld a lower court's ruling that ordered 2600
> Magazine to remove DeCSS from its online publication,
> including hyperlinks. Jon Johansen provided testimony
> in the 2600 Magazine case.
> 
> The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will continue to
> handle both of these U.S. DeCSS cases and is determining
> its role in the Johansen case.
> 
> Additional information on Johansen case:
> http://www.eff.org/IP/DeCSS_prosecutions/Johansen_DeCSS_case/
> 
> Jon Johansen’s testimony at the 2600 Magazine trial in New
> York under the DMCA (July 20, 2000):
> http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/20000720_ny_trial_transcript.html
> 
> Declaration of Jon Bing, Norwegian legal expert on lack of
> legal precedent in Norway to support ØKOKRIM’s indictment
> (filed in California DeCSS trade secrets case):
> http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/20000118_bing_norway_law_decl.html
> 
> Additional information on DVD CCA cases:
> http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/
> 
> About EFF:
> 
> The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
> liberties organization working to protect rights in the
> digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
> challenges industry and government to support free
> expression, privacy, and openness in the information
> society. EFF is a member-supported organization and
> maintains one of the most-linked-to websites in the world at
> http://www.eff.org/
> 
>                             -end-
> 
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