PIRATED VICTORY

By Randal Rust

In Norway, Jon Lech Johansen, creator of DeCSS, which allows users to break codes on DVDs and copy them, has been cleared of piracy charges.

The three-member panel said, "The court finds that someone who buys a DVD film that has been legally produced has legal access to the film. Something else would apply if the film had been an illegal pirate copy."

Well, duh. Finally some sanity regarding "pirated" movies and other forms of digital entertainment. The entertainment industry seems to think that when I buy their product, I'm renting it from them, and that I can't even make copies for myself. Hopefully this ruling is a step in the right direction.