State High Court Asked to Review DVD Ruling

A movie industry association said it asked the California Supreme Court to review a ruling that distributing a DVD copying program is not illegal.

The DVD Copy Control Assn. Inc. owns the technology used to encrypt DVDs. The association argues that distribution of the DVD copying program DeCSS is illegal under California’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act because the program is based on the industry’s secret encryption method.

The association won a preliminary injunction in January 2000 barring distribution of DeCSS. But last month, a three-judge panel for California’s Court of Appeal in the 6th District struck down that ruling, finding that free-speech rights trump the movie industry’s interest in reducing DVD piracy.

The injunction remains in effect while the Supreme Court considers whether to take this latest appeal.