See related files:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video (EFF Archive)
http://jya.com/cryptout.htm#DVD-DeCSS (Cryptome Archive)
http://www.2600.com/dvd/docs (2600 Archive)
http://eon.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/dvd/ (Harvard DVD OpenLaw Project)
EFF DVD Update: July 25, 2000
Universal City Studios v. 2600 Magazine
EFF Detonates Mind Bomb in Court on Final Day of DVD Trial
EFF's DVD defense team rested its case on Tuesday in litigation over the movie studios' attempt to ban DeCSS software that enables people to play DVDs on their computers. David Touretzky, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University testified for the defense explaining the inherently expressive nature of computer code. Touretzky created a "Gallery of CSS Descramblers" on his university Web site illustrating a multitude of ways that the idea of DeCSS can be expressed using various languages - from plain English to source code to assembly language, etc. He walked the court through a step by step illustration, demonstrating how a series of 1's and 0's taken from one rendition of the code actually communicate a specific idea expressed in the English or C-source code versions of the software.
Touretzky informed the court that computer code is the means by which programmers communicate to one another with precision so banning DeCSS will inevitably have a chilling effect on his ability to express himself. Touretzky explained how source and object code really convey the same idea - only expressed differently, and cautioned the court against differentiating between different forms of speech (including computer code) for purposes of First Amendment protection.
Visibly moved by the compelling testimony, at one point Judge Kaplan got out of his chair and paced back and forth, listening intently to the professor's mind blowing explanation. When Touretzky was finished, the judge thanked him for his testimony, saying it had been "illuminating", "important", and that he was "hoping to hear it" during the course of the trial. After both parties rested their case, Judge Kaplan said that his DMCA analysis had likely not changed since he issued the injunction in January. However, "I think one thing probably has changed with respect to the constitutional analysis," Kaplan stated, "I really find what Professor Touretzky had to say today extremely persuasive and educational about computer code."
EFF's defense team also called Andrew Appel, a Princeton University computer science professor and Michael Einhorn, Columbia University economist. Chris DiBona from the Silicon Valley Linux Users' Group and VA Linux Evangelist, and Olegario Craig of the University of Massachusetts also rounded out the testimony defending 2600 Magazine's right to publish the code on the final day of testimony.
Now that the trial is complete, EFF's defense team will draft and exchange legal briefs with the studios' lawyers on August 8 based upon the facts that came out at trial. After receiving the legal briefs and hearing oral argument (TBD) Judge Kaplan will make his determination as to the legality of the DeCSS software created by Jon Johansen.
Professor Touretzky's Gallery of CSS Descramblers:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/Gallery/index.html
Essay, "Source vs. Object Code: A False Dichotomy" by David Touretzky:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/object-code.txt
Transcript of July 25, 2000 trial:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/20000721_ny_trial_transcript.html
An index of the DVD updates can be found at:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/dvd_updates_archive.html
EFF's archive of MPAA v 2600 litigation: http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/
