RE: [dvd-discuss] Comparing DeCSS with legitimate code.

[Richard Hartman <hartman(at)onetouch.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tom [mailto:tom@lemuria.org]
> Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 11:18 PM
> To: dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
> Subject: Re: [dvd-discuss] Comparing DeCSS with legitimate code.
> 
> 
> On Thu, May 23, 2002 at 11:54:13PM +0100, Mark Roberts wrote:
> > exists. Has it been pointed out to the court that every 
> legitimate DVD 
> > player in the world has code which performs exactly the 
> same function as 
> > DeCSS  ?
> 
> that is not true. especially later versions of decss have a much more
> sophisticated key handling than the commercial dvd players.
> 
> 
> > Unless the court can say what DeCSS does that a legitimate 
> player does 
> > not, there is surely no way that it can be ruled illegal.
> 
> let's see:
> 
> - decss reads DVDs regardless of region coding

The region coding is not part of the encryption.

Otoh, it may be considered to be a protection mechanism
in it's own right, albiet it is at the level of the archtypical
"do not copy" flag.

> - decss allows skipping of the FBI warning

Yes ... so?  I don't recall the DMCA mandating the
viewing of FBI warnings ...

> - decss reads DVDs regardless of key revocation (later versions)

So will any DVD manufactured before the key was revoked.
Does this mean that, by revoking a key, the MPAA and/or DVDCCA
can turn all existing authorized DVD players into unauthorized
circumvention devices and require everybody to buy new ones?

> - decss doesn't even need a key (later versions)
> 
> 

The ones that use brute force to discover the key are
arguably circumvention devices.  That I'll have to
grant.


-- 
-Richard M. Hartman
hartman@onetouch.com

186,000 mi./sec ... not just a good idea, it's the LAW!