HEX CODE NOT A COPYRIGHT ISSUE?
By Tamera H. BennettMay 3, 2007
DIGG to Google to Wordpress are all part of the "hex code" takedown of 2007. For those not following this drama unfold, bloggers on various sites are posting the Digital Rights Management (DRM) code to unlock certain HD-DVDs.
DIGG and others have received cease and desist letters pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) anti-circumvention section.
The question you will see debated on many blogs is whether or not a string of numbers is protected by copyright. That's not really the issue. If you "dig" deeper, the issue does not involve the copyrightable nature of a string of numbers, but rather the use of the DMCA to take down disclosures of how to circumvent DRM protection measures.
Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator, LLC (AACS LA), is the developer, proprietor and licensor of the Advanced Access Content System (AACS). AACS is an integrated set of technological protection measures that controls access to and prevents unauthorized copying of copyrighted motion pictures embodied on high definition DVDs.
Read more from the cease and desist letter to Google.
Read Wired's Post from May 3, 2007 2:00am
Read Rex Dixon's Technically Speaking Opinion on Kevin Rose's actions
