FC: Village Voice on NY DVD lawsuit (including article by Harvey Silverglate)

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

And a quick story I wrote on the judge's opinion that was finally released 
yesterday:
  http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,34091,00.html


> Reply-To: "Mark Boal" <mboal () earthlink net>
> From: "Mark Boal" <mboal () earthlink net>
> To: <declan () well com>
> Subject: DeCSS trial coverage
> Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2000 10:51:26 -0500
> X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300
>
> Declan-
>
> Your list may be interested in this DeCSS story.
>
> http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0005/howe.shtml
>
> Village Voice  Feb 2-8, 2000
> FADE TO BLACK: The Motion Picture Association Shuts Down Crypto Research
> BY JEFF HOWE
>
> It's 2:30 p.m. and Roman Kazan and his fiancée huddle on a couch in the
> entryway of Judge Lewis A. Kaplan's chambers. Kazan is one of three
> defendants accused of violating copyright law by distributing DeCSS, a piece
> of software that the Motion Picture Association of America says can, in
> theory, be used to copy DVDs. Over the next three hours, Kazan's confidence
> gives way to confusion then outrage. At 5:30 p.m. the judge hands down a
> preliminary injunction against him.
>
> "I'm being sued for something I have nothing to do with," he says. Indeed,
> Kazan doesn't care a whit about DeCSS, and he never even heard of the
> program until he was served court papers. But this is immaterial, as the
> lawyers say.
>
> [snip..]
>
> "It's more efficient to go after an ISP," explains Jonathan Band, a lawyer
> specializing in digital law. "If they can set this precedent, it will make
> any cease-and-desist letter far more compelling. They can close down 50
> sites at once."
>
>   [snip..}
>
> And here's attorney Harvey Silverglate's opinion on the DeCSS trials:
>
> http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0005/silverglate.shtml
>
> Village Voice
> February 2 - 8, 2000
> DVD DESPERADOES
> BY HARVEY A. SILVERGLATE
>
> In a fit of megalomania, Canute, the 11th-century king of Norway, held his
> hand over the ocean and ordered the tide to recede. When it comes to the
> information age, Canute's modern-day successors are the film studios and
> their trade group the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). They've
> unleashed a furious legal barrage against the cypherpunks who found a way to
> decrypt and copy DVDs. So far, the case has gone industry's way, but in the
> long run, their attack seems as doomed to fail as Canute's attempt to master
> the sea.
>
> [snip..]
>
>
>
>
> ****************************************************************************
> ****
> Mark Boal
> Senior Editor
> Village Voice
> 212-475-3300 ext. 3202
> mboal () villagevoice com

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