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NYTimes story on 1st Amm. and DVDs



http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/cyberlaw/28law.html

This story has direct bearing on Greg Newby's situation and is a pretty
even handed report. Note that the NYTimes may be subject to a letter such
as one that UNC received from the MPAA regarding linking to DeCSS code ;->
Note also that the MPAA has yet to even allege that DeCSS has ever been
used for illegal purposes--only that it may possibly be used that way.

The last two paragraphs are particularly interesting:

"Yochai Benkler, a professor at New York University Law School who is an
expert on intellectual property and the Internet, predicted that the
ultimate outcome of the New York DVD case, and a companion case filed in
federal court in Connecticut, could establish important legal precedents.
He said Judge Kaplan's view of the copyright act was "radical."

              If the judge's view is correct, Benkler said, then the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act "does something no copyright law has ever
done -- it extinguishes fair use," he said."


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                             Paul Jones
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