Trial of Norwegian DVD buster extended after last-minute change in charges

Source: Security Focus

The trial of a Norwegian teenager whose DVD cracking program gave Hollywood a bigger fright than a scary movie was extended by one day until Monday.

The trial, which was to have ended Friday, was extended because the prosecution made minor, last-minute changes in the wording of the indictment.

Jon Lech Johansen, 19, pleaded not guilty to charges of violating computer security laws when the trial started Monday. He wrote the program, called DeCSS, as a 15-year-old and distributed it free of charge in October 1999 on the Internet.

"Like anything else, DeCSS can be used for illegal goals," Johansen said this week in the Oslo District Court. "Just like you can make copies with a regular CD-burner and sell them."

The program cracks security codes the film industry developed for DVDs to prevent unauthorized copying and distribution that could cost them millions of dollars a year. Such programs are now readily available on the commercial market.

Johansen became a hero to computer hackers, especially in the United States, and was vilified by the film industry.

If convicted, Johansen, known throughout Norway as "DVD Jon," could face up to two years in prison, plus fines and compensation.

However, few expect the teen to face jail time in the first case in which a Norwegian has been charged with breaking into a product that they already own. A verdict is expected within a few weeks.

DeCSS compromised an industry-developed software scheme called the Content Scrambling System -- usually called CSS -- that was designed to prevent unauthorized duplication.

But DeCSS also lets people copy and share DVD files on the Internet.

The prosecutors, acting on a complaint from the Motion Picture Association of America, argued that the program, in effect, left film studios' property unlocked and open for theft. They decided to test Norway's data security laws instead of pursuing a copyright case.