Re: [dvd-discuss] close to the proverbial bone

["John Zulauf" <johnzu(at)ia.nsc.com>]

Richard Hartman wrote:
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: John Zulauf [mailto:johnzu@ia.nsc.com]
> ...
> > but the evil of the DMCA is that the circumvention tools are illegal
> > whether or not there is any evidence of copyright
> > infringment.
> 
> Ok ... how about a hypothetical running in a different direction ...
> 
> I write a virus.  The main portion of it is encrypted (except
> for the self-decryptor).  As it operates it decrypts it's payload,
> executes & deletes all unencrypted portions again.
> 
> So ... would the anti-virus makers be liable under the DMCA
> for bypassing my access protection mechanism in order to create
> a utility to clean up after my virus?

With the Berne Convention -- certainly...  cracking the encryption
surrounding a virus would certainly be circumventing the access controls
of "without the authority of a copyright owner" -- this is of course the
flip side of the DMCA error -- it doesn't define any limits on what a
copyright holder can authorize or disauthorize.

Requiring registration for copyright protection would yield the humorous
answer "only if they filed for a copyright"  (followed immediately by a
spot on "Americas Dumbest Criminals")


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