Re: [dvd-discuss] DVD Jon wins appeal

[microlenz(at)earthlink.net]

This is good news...but I'm even more curious about the make up of the 
judges....Seven- three legal and four "lay" , two of which are 
"technical"...that might be an innovation worth exporting...


On 22 Dec 2003 at 8:33, James S. Tyre wrote:

Date sent:      	Mon, 22 Dec 2003 08:33:42 -0800
To:             	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
From:           	"James S. Tyre" <jstyre@jstyre.com>
Subject:        	[dvd-discuss] DVD Jon wins appeal
Send reply to:  	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu

> Jon, if you're still reading this list, congratulations!
> 
> http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=696330
> 
> 
> DVD-Jon wins new legal victory
> 
> Norway's most famous computer whiz got an early Christmas present on 
> Monday. An appeals court in Oslo upheld Jon Lech Johansen's earlier 
> acquittal on all counts of alleged copyright violations.
> 
> A verdict in the case, which has caught international attention, wasn't 
> expected until early January. But the appeals court (Borgarting 
> lagmannsrett) apparently didn't see any need to wait with its decision.
> 
> A panel of judges Monday cast aside the appeal that prosecutors had filed 
> to a lower court decision handed down in January. That means the lower 
> court's decision will stand, at least until another eventual appeal takes 
> the case to Norway's supreme court.
> 
> The lower court had ruled that Johansen, now 20, did nothing illegal when 
> he helped crack DVD copy protection codes in 1999 and then publicized how 
> he did it. The prosecution had sought a suspended jail term, confiscation 
> of his computer equipment and a fine of NOK 20,000 (less than USD 3,000).
> 
> Prosecutors had put Johansen back on trial earlier this month for his role in
> creating a software solution that removes copy protection from DVD films. He was
> dubbed "DVD-Jon" after he helped crack the copy protection code as a teenager
> and then published it on the Internet.
> 
> He became an instant hero to those who finally could watch DVD films on 
> their computers instead of being forced to buy expensive DVD players, but 
> he incurred the fury of some of the biggest players in the entertainment 
> industry. It all turned into a classic "David and Goliath" situation, with
> Johansen ultimately facing prosecution by Norway's white-collar crime unit
> Oekokrim.
> 
> In January, Johansen won. An Oslo court cleared him of all charges that his role
> in creating the so-called "DeCSS" program was a violation of copyright and an
> invitation to wide-scale piracy.
> 
> Prosecutors appealed the verdict, only to be knocked down once again by the
> higher court.
> 
> The new ruling was made by a panel of three professional judges backed up 
> by four lay judges, two of whom had technical expertise relevant to the case.
> 
> Aftenposten English Web Desk
> Nina Berglund
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> James S. Tyre                               mailto:jstyre@jstyre.com
> Law Offices of James S. Tyre          310-839-4114/310-839-4602(fax)
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> Co-founder, The Censorware Project             http://censorware.net
>