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Hi Neil, Thanks for that excellent explanation. However it highlights a gaping (and IMHO fatal) flaw in the logic of those who deem it illegal. I'm one of those who usually skips past the copyright part so I can just watch the movie. However this time I thought I would take a detailed look at exactly what it allows: "The copyright proprietor has licensed this DVD (including its' soundtrack) for private home use only. All other rights reserved. The definition of home use excludes the use of this DVD at locations such as clubs, coaches, hospitals, hotels, oil rigs, prisons and schools. Any unauthorised copying, editing, exhibition, renting, exchanging, hiring, lending, public performance diffusion and/or broadcast of this DVD, or any part thereof, is strictly prohibited and any such action establishes liability for a civil action and may give rise to a criminal prosecution. This DVD is not to be exported, distributed and/or sold by way of trade outside the EU without a proper license from [copyright proprietor]." To me that first sentence says it all. The copyright proprietor HAS LICENSED this DVD for PRIVATE HOME USE only. Nothing anywhere about "You must have paid for the DVD player". I'm using it at home (in my bedroom in fact which hardly constitutes public performance - even on a good day <LOL>). Therefore I am acting as specified by the copyright proprietors themselves and yet that is illegal? I'm betting a test case in court would slaughter the lack of logic this law seems to be bending. Kind regards, Julian PS I tried running PowerDVD via WINE. No joy, but I'm going to play a hunch and I'll let you know how it works. BTW it's a licensed version of PowerDVD that I *bought* :) On Sun, 2003-04-20 at 13:50, Neil Williams wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > On Sunday 20 Apr 2003 12:32 pm, Julian Hall wrote: > > Hi Keith, > > BTW as a passing interest, what muppet decided that it is illegal to > > play DVDs on Linux? Illegal to play my own purchased DVDs on my own > > purchased computer?? I don't think so! > > It would be legal IF one of the DVD companies sold you a licenced Linux DVD > player but in the absence of one for protected movies, the DVD issuing > company expect you to PAY for the DVD player of their choice which is Windows > (or Mac (I think?)). You purchased the DVD but not the rights to the movie - > i.e. copying, changing or re-selling. You can do what you like with the DVD > (the plastic itself) but the movie (allegedly) is not your property. The > companies say that you gain the rights to watch the movie when you pay extra > for an approved player. Whether that is actually valid in law, I don't know > as there is nothing on the packaging stating that an approved player is > required. Like copy-protected CD's, the companies are trying to force you to > only use certain equipment to access the copyrighted material. > > What the companies term illegal (but still not tested under UK law) is using > the open-source code reverse engineered by DVD-Jon because that code is not > authorised for use by the copyright owner. (I think). > > Not all DVD's are protected (99% but not all). I prefer to use the DVD-player > downstairs and watch it on a TV screen - the office isn't exactly a > comfortable place to watch a movie. I paid for the DVD-player and I paid for > another DVD-player as software when I bought my last PC with Windows. Some > DVD's come with yet another DVD-player for Windows so I'm certainly not going > to pay anyone for another DVD-player for Linux no matter what Time-Warner > say. The Redmond Tax is bad enough without the DVD tax too. > > What's needed is some way of releasing a version of the DVD code that can play > all DVD's but which doesn't open the door to copying. Full open-source is > being attacked by the copyright owners, full closed-source proprietary > drivers aren't available and would not be acceptable if payment is involved > anyway - perhaps some way of running the byte-code from existing Windows > installations. I can't see a DVD player run via Wine being particularly > watchable but if the overhead can be reduced along the lines of the > SpeedTouch ADSL modem with it's Windows byte-code, it might work. > > While we're talking legal: what do people think of the SCO / IBM spat? > > - -- > > Neil Williams > ============= > http://www.codehelp.co.uk > http://www.dclug.org.uk > > http://www.wewantbroadband.co.uk/ > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) > > iD8DBQE+opeeiAEJSii8s+MRAjMTAKDZilY+o4CZeNeqzaXZmOpvDAbfIwCg2X0h > lWJKM3Wu0YiYzEhN/++CRi0= > =FiDh > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > > -- > The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG > Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the > message body to unsubscribe. -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe.