RE: [dvd-discuss] Bunner wins DeCSS trade secret appeal

["Ballowe, Charles" <CBallowe(at)usg.com>]

While the exact expression of the idea might be copyright, but
copyright doesn't apply to the idea itself. If they published a
document containing the CSS algorithm to the general public,
redistribution of that document would be prevented, but a person
could repackage the concepts and present a new document.

The only way to protect the idea is to patent it, but then they
lose control after 20 years. Instead of protecting it, they 
tried to hide it and somebody found it. oops...

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael A Rolenz [mailto:Michael.A.Rolenz@aero.org]
> Subject: Re: [dvd-discuss] Bunner wins DeCSS trade secret appeal
> 
> 
> The problem with the concept that it's copyrighted as soon as it is 
> written down is that nobody know that. In physics if it can't 
> be observed 
> it isn't "physical". Ditto for copyright.  It's also hard to 
> argue that 
> the full range of copyright protection should be extended to private 
> scribblings. Now maybe a use for the UTSA would be to 
> prosecute somebody 
> who steals a manuscript using it.
> 
> As for published.....well lets see. It has been disseminated 
> to a small 
> number of people and the DVD-discuss archive WAS being made 
> available on 
> the Internet at OPENLAW.ORG. Granted it didn't get distribution in a 
> bookstore by a commeercial publisher but what more does it 
> need. A book 
> run is about 2500 copies I think. How many hits does open law 
> get daily? I 
> guess the question is that even though it's not deposited 
> with the office, 
> it would seem to be published.
>