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Jon Trial Started Today
posted by mpawlo on Monday December 09, @02:55PM
from the dvd-on-linux-prohibited dept.
Copyright As reported by Greplaw, the Norweigan "Byrett" (district court) started trying the Jon Johansen DVD case today. Jon Johansen is being prosecuted by the Norwegian Economic Crime Unit (OKOKRIM) under Norwegian Criminal Code 145(2). Johansen was involved in a group called More, Masters of reversed engineering, that created the DeCSS software that can enable DVD playback on Linux. It is argued that the DeCSS software is a piracy tool.

A first-hand account of the trial is published by Declan McCullagh's Politech.

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    Jon Trial Started Today | Login/Create an Account | Top | 2 comments | Search Discussion
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    The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
    I don't understand this... (Score:1)
    by psxndc on Monday December 09, @10:29PM (#523)
    User #564 Info
    When someone abuses a gun, gun makers aren't dragged into court, the person that abused it is. Just because a tool _can_ be used to do something illegal, should the tool itself be illegal?

    I'm sure everyone here knows what DeCSS' purpose is, decryption of DVDs, but just because a step you can take afterwards is copying the DVD, it doesn't have to be. I don't know the kid. He could have intended to copy movies for all I know, but if he maintains that he did it just because he wanted watch DVDs and the decryption is a necessary part of that, why is that so hard for the courts to accept?

    psxndc

    Re:I don't understand this... (Score:1)
    by TomWiles on Tuesday December 10, @02:05PM (#525)
    User #396 Info
    It is my understanding that this prosicution was purchased by the RIAA, and that this is the only statute that they might be able to make a case (that would not have been dismissed out of hand).

    It is my understanding that Norway gives an award each year for the high school student that makes the most significant contribution to the Norwegian society. It is also my understanding that JON received that award three years ago for the very code he is being prosicuted for now.

    The purpose of the court case appears to be more intimidation than prosicuting. Other examples would be Dimetry who was jailed and kept in the US for five months before he was released (without ever being prosicuted). Phil Zimmerman was jailed periodically and harrassed by the justice department for about three years before all charges were dropped (again he was not prosicuted -- just persicuted).

    It appears that powerful entities seem to be of the opinion that they can achieve their goals through persicution (not prosicution). I am actually suprised that this case came to trial (and not some form of compromise reached). I suspect that the instigators of this case against JON stand to loose a great deal if he is acquited (which I suspect he will be).

    What I do not know is whether this is a jury trial. A jury is much tougher to influence than a single judge.

    TOM

    Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition. - Isaac Asimov

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