Jon Johansen's trial ended today but the judge may not be back with a verdict till early next year. The charges he faces could bring a maximum of 2 years in jail, but the prosecution is recommending a suspended 90 days sentence. ZDNet said this in their report:
OSLO, Norway--The landmark trial of a Norwegian teenager over Hollywood charges of DVD piracy ended Monday with prosecutors urging a suspended 90-day jail term. Jon Johansen, known in Norway as "DVD Jon," is charged with having unlocked a copyright-protection code and distributed a computer program enabling unauthorized copying of DVD movies, angering U.S. movie studios who fear mass piracy and loss of revenue. The defense focused on Johansen's copying of DVDs he already owned. "The thief who breaks into his own flat is not committing any crime," Johansen's lawyer, Halvor Manshaus, told the Oslo court in his closing argument of the case--seen as a battle between cyber Davids and corporate Goliaths..... Following five days of hearings in a Norwegian court, prosecutor Inger Marie Sunde spent much of the closing argument saying that Johansen was a key player in developing DeCSS. "I think this case is about gang crime. It is beyond any doubt that there was a rivalry" in developing the program, she said. Sunde called for a suspended 90-day sentence for Johansen. The charges he faces could bring a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Manshaus did not dispute the fact that his client had helped develop and distribute DeCSS. However, he said there was no basis in Norwegian law for a conviction, saying DVDs were technically, but not legally, protected from copying. |
You can read the entire article here.
Source: ZDNet
