“The DVD Copy Control Association Inc. (Morgan Hill, Calif.)
brought suit on Monday (Dec. 27) against dozens of websites to
remove from the Internet the code for DeCSS, a small software
program that can copy the encrypted video portion of a DVD
disk….”
“Such a ruling would tell web site operators “‘I’m going to go
to your private website, I the state will tell you you can’t put
this on your website. I don’t know if it’s improper. I don’t know
if it’s a trade secret, but you have to take it off your website,’
” Levy said. “This will have a tremendous chilling effect on speech
everywhere.”
“The case has become an overnight sensation in the Linux
community, and supporters of the defendants gathered at the
courthouse, handling out printed copies of the code and disks
containing the code itself. Lawyers entered the handouts as
evidence.“