Hollywood to Sue Over DeCSS
In a motion filed by eight Hollywood motion picture companies including Disney, Time Warner, and Paramount Pictures, three New York men have been issued a cease and desist order on the distribution of the DVD decryption program DeCSS. A lawsuit was filed in Connecticut naming one defendant accused of the same thing.
The New York men are accused of posting the software on their Web site along with messages encouraging the piracy and Internet distribution of DVD files.
One defendant in the Manhattan case claims his innocence, stating that he merely hosts the sites in which the software was posted.
This is not the first time that DeCSS has been in the legal hot seat. Last month charges were filed in California against 92 people including Jon Johansen, programmer of the decryption software. The District Court judge ruled in favor of the webmasters, at least until January 14, 2000 when the case will reappear in the courts.
Read more about DeCSS and the California lawsuit on betanews.com.