U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra O'Connor Fri. lifted temporary ...
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra O'Connor Fri. lifted temporary stay against Cal. Supreme Court decision holding that out-of-state Internet users who posted information on how to hack DVD copy protections couldn’t be sued in Cal. courts (CED Jan 3…
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p5). DVD Copy Control Assn. Inc (DVD CCA) applied for stay Dec. 23, saying it was necessary to prevent Matthew Pavlovich -- who would have been dropped from case under state ruling -- from posting reverse-engineered decryption program known as DeCSS (which decodes movies stored on DVDs). On Dec. 26, O'Connor stayed enforcement of state judgment pending receipt of response from Pavlovich. That response, filed last Thurs., contended DeCSS information has been readily available for “at least the past 2 years,” negating DVD CCA’s claims of urgency and possible harm. O'Connor’s reversal is “an important victory for us,” said Allonn Levy, Pavlovich’s attorney. Order is “in line with” what Cal. Supreme Court did when presented expert evidence that DeCSS is both useful and legal, and available online, Levy said. Levy said he expects DVD CCA to petition for certiorari. That’s one option, said DVD CCA attorney Gregory Coleman. Others include suing Pavlovich in Ind. or Tex., or convincing him to commit to “respect our trade secrets.” “We're obviously disappointed,” Coleman told us.