Digital Millenium Act and the DCSS Case
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Transcript Digital Millenium Act and the DCSS Case
The DMCA, DeCSS, Copyrights
and the First Amendment
Universal Studios v. Reimerdes
MPAA encrypts DVDs using the CSS
algorithm
2600, an online magazine, posts both source
code of DeCSS and links to mirror pages.
MPAA sues 2600 for copyright
infringement
CSS Algorithm
Potential Attacks on CSS
CSS uses a small 40 bit key
Attack space on a movie file is 216
Attack space on Disk Key is 225
Attack using known player key is DeCSS
Streamcipher
2 Linear Feedback Shift Register
LFSR1 is 17 bits
LFSR2 is 25 bits
Potential Attacks on CSS
CSS uses a small 40 bit key
Attack space on a movie file is 216
Attack space on Disk Key is 225
Attack using known player key is DeCSS
Universal Studios v. Reimerdes
Encryption protects property, and under
DMCA section 1201, anti-circumvention
measures are illegal.
Posting to the internet is illegal distribution
Prohibiting owners from profiting from
their work is infringement
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Prohibits the circumvention of encryption
schemes designed to protect copyrighted
works
Creates prohibitions on devices designed to
circumvent copy-protection mechanisms
Universal Studios v. Reimerdes
Encryption protects property, and under
DMCA section 1201, anti-circumvention
measures are illegal.
Posting to the internet is illegal distribution
Prohibiting owners from profiting from
their work is infringement
Fair Use
Copyrighted material may be used without
permission or compensation under some
circumstances
Parody, educational and archival uses
The DVD encryption scheme prevents such
uses
The DMCA makes exemption for the
exercise of fair use
Source Code as Speech
Junger v Daley – Source code is a method
of exchanging ideas and is thus protected
Bernstein v. US Dept of State – instructions,
technical information and manuals are
functional but are still protected as speech
Source Code Takes Action
2 kinds of speech - pure, and expressive
Algorithm is an idea, an English description
is still pure speech.
An executable is a series of commands
which cause a computer to perform an
action.
Source code falls between the two, but is
closer to an executable than to English.
Conclusion
The court finds in favor of the MPAA
The DMCA was correctly applied
Serious questions remain about the
constitutionality of the DMCA