Weekly news wrap-up: DMCA shuts down gaming server, DeCSS decision to be reviewed

Court action and threats of court action seemed to dominate the news this week. Bnetd, an Open Source gaming server, was shut down this week because of threats by gaming company Blizzard Entertainment, but there was better news for those who’ve linked to the DeCSS Linux DVD-playing code.

Blizzard threatened bnetd and its Internet service provider by way of the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Blizzard claimed bnetd was violating the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA by not requiring players of Blizzard games to enter their games’ CD keys. Just how that violates Blizzard’s copyright on games, we’re not sure.

In DeCSS news, the California Supreme Court will review the case in which several Web sites were sued for posting DeCSS in supposed violation of a California trade secrets law. These sites, of course, were hosted all over the place, not just California, so the case raises some interesting questions about how widely the state’s laws can be enforced. The trade secret violation itself seems rather dubious, but then, we’re not making the big bucks lawyers do.

In another DeCSS story, the Open Source Directory added DeCSS to its list of software in celebration of a Canadian Supreme Court decision saying customers have a right to post negative reviews of products on the Web.

The U.S. Supreme Court is also getting into the act by taking up a case seeking more fair use rights for the online public in a fight against copyright holders.

Another reason to use an Open Source OS …

It was widely reported this week that Microsoft’s XP media player tracks what music users listen to and what DVDs they play. Microsoft says it has no plans to sell information but we can imagine all kinds of court cases in which the company could be compelled to turn over those lists.

Speaking of Microsoft, NewsForge’s Jack Bryar suggests the company’s secret negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice over Microsoft’s antitrust punishments may violation an old law requiring disclosure of such talks.

Newly reviewed