Re: DVD legal maneuvers (decss and the lawyers)

[Martin Minow <minow@pobox.com>]

At 14:47 -0500 2000.01.02, Adam Shostack wrote:
>Most MS based installers that I played with read a LICENSE file from
>the current directory.  By replacing the poorly written text provided
>with a copy of your favorite license, you can get their installer to
>offer more equitable and proper license terms.
>
I'm not a lawyer, but I rather doubt that you can get away with
saying "I replaced the license file, so your license doesn't
apply." People objecting to the license terms by asserting
intrinsic rights (as established in the USA by the SEGA and
Sony VCR court decisions) may have a stronger case.

In any case, re-distributing the decoded movie violates the
copyright holder's rights and, at at least $500 per copy
(USA) may be an expensive lesson when the downloads are
added up. In the worst case, you may spoil "fair use" for
the rest of us.

Martin Minow
minow@pobox.com