AfterDawn: News

French DRM activists turn themselves in to police

In response to the the newly adopted, very controversial DADVSI French law, three French DRM activists have turned themselves in to Police for breaking the law. The DADVSI law has made it illegal to bypass copy protection mechanisms, to help another bypass copy protection mechanisms or to suggest that somebody bypass copy protection mechanisms. Fine of up to €30,000 and six months in prison can be handed to offenders.

The three DRM activists were accompanied by a large crowd of supporters as they went to the local police station and admitted the following "crimes".



Stéphane used the DVD Decrypter software to help transfer a legally purchased DVD to his portable DVD player. For this offense he could face a €3,750 fine fine.

Tangui read a DVD disc on open source Linux software.

Jérôme bypassed the copy protection on music purchased from iTunes and another French online provider, wrote a webpage explaining how to bypass the DRM and translated a software that gets rid of protections on digital content. For these crimes, he could face a €30,000 fine and up to six months in prison.

Source:
Boing Boing

Written by: James Delahunty @ 25 Sep 2006 7:36

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• 30 comments

• lxfactor

  why would you turn yourself in for stuff like that?

  25.9.2006 09:18 #1

• Dela

  to show that you can be prosecuted for doing something harmless like using DVD Decrypoter so you can "free" your movie to enjoy on a portable player?

  25.9.2006 09:41 #2

• sathere

  These people need everyones surport, just wish I had the same courage as them!!!

  25.9.2006 12:51 #3

• BludRayne

  I hope their plan doesn't backfire. I would have chosen some other way to draw attention to the evils of DRM.

  25.9.2006 12:58 #4

• gogochar

  I hear you there BludRayne. They did the good deed of turning themselves in (even though it really isn't illegal to do any of those things over here in America).

  25.9.2006 13:57 #5

• neo1000

  Hope don`t drop the soap.

  25.9.2006 14:54 #6

• Spaz02538

  they also may be in it for the money in the long haul, such as:
  lets say they change the law, now they can go to court and sue for wrong conviction or chages and get money out of the deal in the future.

  25.9.2006 16:53 #7

• PeaInAPod

  People need to see this type of stuff happen. People shouldn't be afraid of their government, especially for "crimes" like these. Quoting "V" of V for Vendetta "People should not be afraid of their government, the government should be afraid of the people."
  
  *V for Vendetta great movie, excellent storyline.

  25.9.2006 18:47 #8

• Venom5880

  Wow... Glad I don't live in France.

  25.9.2006 19:12 #9

• georgeluv

  its illegal in america too, doesnt anyone remeber when afterdawn had to take down all there tutorials on how to rip dvds with protection?
  
  with that said i would like to thank the makers of AnyDVD and CloneDVD, can you imagine how many BILLIONS of dollars have been lost because of AnyDVD?

  25.9.2006 19:50 #10

• PeaInAPod

  *just a quick update
  
  Yes georgeluv your right in some respects. Doing things like these frenchmen did are banned in the U.S.A but thats not the reason the tutorials and software have been removed from afterdawn. Heres a link to the news article concerning the issue - http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/7179.cfm
  

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  25.9.2006 20:14 #11

• themind

  I thought that it was legal to back up your movies and music. I'm a truck driver and I have about 30 movies backed up so when im on the road i dont have to think about looseing them. I also have an ipod with all of my cds ripped to it. If they want to come get me they can. I also download from bittorent cause there is alot of content on bittorent that isnt copyrighted. I beleave im within the law.

  26.9.2006 00:50 #12

• borhan9

  Quote:The DADVSI law has made it illegal to bypass copy protection mechanisms, to help another bypass copy protection mechanisms or to suggest that somebody bypass copy protection mechanisms. Fine of up to €30,000 and six months in prison can be handed to offenders.Now thats some crazy fines and jail time. I love France but this law will make me think twice about doing this if i go there. :)

  26.9.2006 04:16 #13

• Venom5880

  <quote>Stéphane used the DVD Decrypter software to help transfer a legally purchased DVD to his portable DVD player. For this offense he could face a €3,750 fine fine.
  
  Tangui read a DVD disc on open source Linux software. </quote>
  
  I'm pretty sure that isn't illegal in the US georgeluv...
  
  As I recall, we're allowed to have a single back-up copy of a DVD, and since he just ripped it to his portable player and didn't share it with others, it'd be fine it the US.
  
  As for the second guy, I mean come on. I highly doubt it's illegal to watch DVDs on PCs running Linux.
  
  The third guy though, I'll admit is breaking the law. But $38k? That's a bit hefty, don't you think?
  
  So like I said before, glad I don't live in France. With those fines and penalties, I'd get a life sentence.

  26.9.2006 06:19 #14

• Chris1000

  Doing something like this is called taking a stand for your rights and the rights of your people, the same thing that Japanese Americans did during World War II when they held protests inside the camps.
  
  Really, these laws are getting more and more ridiculous all the time, and should be struck down by the French courts. They trample on quite a few rights given to the French people that equate to American rights (right to free speech, right to protest) and are blatently illegal.

  26.9.2006 22:31 #15

• ZippyDSM

  PeaInAPod
  a shame finland rolled oer like that....
  
  Venom5880
  I belive a Lunix box runs a non standard codec whith ...uummm skips some....uuummm...protection schemes...thus makeing it...... illicit to do at least under the eyes of the law...its like all thos old anti vibrator/wicca/race laws that are on the books no one pays atention to it but its there non the less.
  
  Chris1000
  the laws have already started to effect fair use and the rights of the buyer.....

  27.9.2006 03:46 #16

• PeaInAPod

  ZippyDSM is right. Most if not ALL current copy protection schemes wont work/run,execute on Linux. Remember that big fiasco awhile ago about Sony and there rootkit? If running a dual-boot Linux/Xp machine one would/could load the disc into Linux rip it and the transfer the music without hassle. Glad I dont live in France "confessing" to doing that would probably be a 3yr jail sentence!lol.
  

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  27.9.2006 20:17 #17

• BTK1

  The main objection about these laws is that they make everybody criminal. Result is that citizens have less respect about laws plus it gives extra power to certain people because they can coerce you to do something.

  28.9.2006 00:41 #18

• ZippyDSM

  PeaInAPod
  like with virus's and such everybody and his cousin makes crap for windose eh? :P

  28.9.2006 01:20 #19

• TheJoxter

  That is possibly the first inspiring act of bravery in the new millenium.
  
  ZIppyDSM: I'm sorry "anti-vibrator" laws? Please elaborate.

  28.9.2006 10:53 #20

• Venom5880

  @ZIppyDSM
  Yeah, that makes sense. Although, it's not like they're breaking any copy protection, just ignoring it.

  28.9.2006 11:07 #21

• ZippyDSM

  TheJoxter
  texas has a Anti vibrator law you cant own more than 5 I think,mind you this was a few years ago it was also illicit to sell them because in order to sell them you had more than 5......
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dildos_in_Texas_law

  28.9.2006 11:57 #22

• rav0

  Originally posted by Venom5880:As for the second guy, I mean come on. I highly doubt it's illegal to watch DVDs on PCs running Linux.Oh, but it is, under DADVSI.
  
  Everybody check this page for some more info about DADVSI and its impact on free software:
  http://www.videolan.org/eucd.html
  Also reported on AfterDawn:
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/7114.cfm
  

  http://www.rav0.be/

  29.9.2006 06:21 #23

• laguna_b

  What this shows is how countries that are even more liberated than the USA seem to be under a stranglehold by the monied interests of the RIAA and Motion picture industry.
  Knowing the French, I am surprised that they have not had loud street demonstrations. This is very peculiar.

  29.9.2006 10:34 #24

• punqewe

  Quote:Tangui read a DVD disc on open source Linux software. that has got to be the most retarded crime I have ever heard of

  29.9.2006 11:51 #25

• ROME06

  Basically, if you want to get alaw overturned you have tp break it first.

  29.9.2006 14:31 #26

• mfitch

  I think it's something like this:
  until you have been arrested for a crime you don't have standing with the courts to protest the legality of the law.
  (i.e. you can't appeal a law that hasn't impacted you)

  29.9.2006 15:21 #27

• mav777777

  there is one thing that all of you people are overlooking when it says she read the DVD from far as we know she could have been reading in to the encryption of the disc which is on grounds of reverse engenneiring (sry bout the spelling) and then should she have made a copy of that data source of the DVD that would be on more grounds of legal trouble so there is a posibilitie it might be deeper then what this implys
  
  and on another not im with venom5880 if i lived there i would be handed straight to the jails with out ever a court date with the amount done
  
  opps ^.^

  29.9.2006 18:10 #28

• Donuts

  "I see dumb people"................
  I'm refering to however passed these laws. They are absurd, it is obvious. It is not a case of "help these people" it is a case of "scrap these laws".
  
  Some people refer to some European governments as "prostitutes", that is they do what they're told, by say some anti-piracy organisation. I suggest that the French government may have passed this law out of fear.

  30.9.2006 04:05 #29

• Adamontar

  how can it be a crime to copy your movies onto a portable dvd player, its your movie you can watch it any way you wish, it not like your pirating a movie.
  I wish and hope the person who passed, supported, and made up this law to die a very painfull death. Imagine how many lives will be affected by this law!

  2.10.2006 02:54 #30