If you remember, a week ago I posted news related to a California trial where the DVD Copy Control Association had sued a Kaleidescape, a company that makes high-end home network systems. Seems that the system, which allowed users to watch their DVDs over their $10,000 network, was violating the license terms related to CSS protection.
As the founder of Kaleidescape pointed out in response, if you can afford one of our systems, you can afford $10 for a DVD.
The ruling today has gone towards the right of the consumer, but don’t relax too much though, the ruling today is rather narrow and essentially states that due to poor and complex wording in the contract, the CSS specifications were not part of the license agreement. Appeals are expected.
This could well become a case that the Copy Control people will regret. If the ruling stands, it could clear the way for consumers to legally rip copies without problems, albeit only to systems that store a single copy for personal use. Certainly, this is not a right they want publicized.
Added: I just noticed that Liggy submitted this to us yesterday. Much thanks.
