[Linux-aus] FTA circumvention devices

Nathan Bailey Nathan.Bailey at its.monash.edu
Thu Mar 18 17:31:02 UTC 2004


This case has already been argued and lost -- Australia Video Renters
vs. Warner Bros., IIRC.  Essentially, the computation component of the
DVD is only an enabler, not content itself.  This meant that Warner
Bros. couldn't sell $20 DVDs to consumers and $100 DVDs to Video
Rental Stores.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/ would have the precedent.
N

Rusty Russell <rusty at rustcorp.com.au> wrote:
>>
ie. is a DVD a computer program?  If not, you're SOL.
<<

Technically, the case could be argued that the content of a DVD *is* a
program. It consists of interpreted code which displays the on-screen
menus, enables/disables features like instant replay, etc. It certainly
isn't a passive data-only medium like videotape.



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