Trouble with Prime Numbers: DeCSS, DVD and the Protection of Proprietary Encryption Tools

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/02-3/guadamuz.html

Trouble with Prime Numbers: DeCSS, DVD and the Protection of
Proprietary Encryption Tools

Abstract

The DVD video format has become one of the most important developments
in the home entertainment market since the popularisation of the
magnetic video recording. The film industry delivered this format with
a built in security system which was supposed to avoid illegal copying
of the discs, much as what is taking place with the music CD and the
almost indiscriminate copying of music into MP3 format over the
Internet. This was achieved by means of encryption technology.

This essay deals with the cracking of DVD encryption and its further
diffusion as a computer programme named DeCSS, which has been made
available over the Internet in various formats, including t-shirts and
a numerical representation of the code. There are three court cases
based on the online posting of this programme, two in the United
States and one in Norway. The article starts by describing the
technology involved, as it is felt by the author that some of these
technical issues are of importance to the legal implications of the
case and should be understood properly. The article then deals with
the developments in all of the three cases up to this date. The essay
then finishes with a look at the legal issues involved, including
hyper-linking, trade secrets, freedom of speech and the translation of
DeCSS into numerical format.


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