Interesting that examples chosen are both examples of the bad application of the DMCA. I would suggest that the examples could have been better chosen.
DeCSS was dismissed (I understand) because it was not a violation of the DMCA in intent (it was intended to provide DVD capability to an unsupported platform). I’ll accept that this is a good example.
The Adobe case is much more clearly an example of bad application. The employee in question was
an employee of a FOREIGN (i.e. non-U.S.) corportation which developed software completely with the laws of its own nation. The employee was arrested for the (entirely legal) acts of his employer.
I would suggest this is more an example of the provincialism of U.S. judges and courts than an example of violation of any laws especially the DMCA. The courts appear to agree since the employee was later released.
In any risk analysis there is a point at which you can’t deal with the risk. I would suggest that whether any government will decide at any point that the actions of foreign nationals acting in their own nations according to the laws in those nations violates the laws of their government is probably one of those below the level of view risks. Mind you, history might disagree with me!
Other than that a valid point was made.
Glen Ford
