Is DeCSS Legal In UK?

[Julian T J Midgley]

On 19 Jul 2002, Paul Crowley wrote:

> Julian T J Midgley <jtjm@xenoclast.org> writes:
> > DeCSS is an mechanism for defeating a copy-protection mechanism (CSS).
>
> DeCSS is a mechanism for playing DVDs using only Open Source
> software.  At the time it was written, writable DVDs were too small
> and expensive to make piracy practical.

DeCSS enables one to play DVDs using Open Source Software - in doing so it
defeats CSS, and whether we like it or not, it could be used to make
illegal copies of DVDs (the fact that it's now easier to make said copies
using standard DVD writers isn't actually here or there).  There is no
doubt that DeCSS defeats the copy-protection(/access control) mechanism
that is CSS, whatever its original purpose might have been.

Julian



-- 
Julian T. J. Midgley                      http://www.xenoclast.org/
Cambridge, England.                          PGP Key ID: 0xBCC7863F