Hi Sluggers,
I just got this in the linuxworld news email:
>>In the last 10 days of August, the Motion Picture Association of America Inc.
>>(MPAA) began sending cease-and-desist orders to people who post or link to
>>the De-Content Scrambling System (DeCSS) program from their Web sites.
>>Read more at http://www.LinuxWorld.com.au/news.php3?tid=8&nid=222
I was wondering what the MPAA could do to someone outside the USA who posted
DeCSS on a webserver, again outside the USA, using a content provider outside
the USA. Do they really have any juristiction to "cease and desist" these sites?
They are the MPA-America, and I certainly do not live in the states, yet
theoretically I could be recieving the C&D notice anyday soon if I do not
remove DeCSS from a website I might control. I also wanted to ask what effect
the DMCA (Digital Millenim Copyright Act) has on someone outside Australia.
Surely the US doesnt think it can force its own laws on those existing outside
their own country, do they?
To bring this On Topic somewhat, what effect could this litigation have on other
products which allow people to read or create other file formats or to view or
copy other media which may be considered copyright by someone somewhere? There
are many many such products used in Linux (ie: anything written by someone not
to copyright hoder, etc and withoutlicence to do so..).
What is the correct response to all this?
PS: If this topic has been addressed before - sorry. I havent been on the slug
list that long (and dont have web access to search any archives there may be).
PPS: EIther way, people can reply privately or onlist - depending on if you see
this as OT or not.
Aaron Binns
<SNIP the bit that annoys JH so much.. :) >
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