“Next time you think about going to see a feature film, remember
this: attorneys from the MPAA and its ally, the DVD Copy Control
Authority, are beating up on hackers and ISPs the world over. Their
complaint? Those targeted have posted or linked to DeCSS, a Linux
utility that enables Linux users to play back legally purchased DVD
video discs on their systems.”
“If you think these lawsuits are bogus, you’d better think
twice. The same organization’s lobbyists played a pivotal role in
several key U.S. legislative acts that transformed copyright
infringement into a crime with penalties akin to second-degree
murder. What’s more, they could very well win the lawsuits
they’ve filed; after all, the MPAA’s lobbyists were given virtually
free reign to write the very laws they’re citing in these lawsuits,
including the DMCA. And the MPAA has already won the opening
skirmishes. Hackers can only hope that, somewhere along the way,
judges will come to their senses and perceive the truth: namely,
that the MPAA-backed legislation pushes the rights of copyright
holders to an unconstitutional extreme. In what follows, I’ll trace
this outrage back to its roots–the U.S. Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA)–and show you just what’s at stake.”