Re: problems after installing Debian
I'm not the OP, but: good / helpful post--thanks!
On Monday, March 20, 2017 05:15:19 AM tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 19, 2017 at 08:52:14PM -0500, Michael Milliman wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> > As an addendum to my previous post on this topic, the reason this
> > library is not included in the Debian repositories is that there are
> > legal issues in some jurisdictions associated with using this library.
> > I'm not sure exactly what the legal issues are, but it has something to
> > do with copyrights, not of the library, but of the videos. So, you
> > might want to check on the legalities in your jurisdiction.
>
> To be more specific: the DVD's content is (almost always) encrypted
> (the so-called "Content Scrambling System" aka CSS). To unscramble,
> you need a key, issued by one industry consortium. Every "device"
> manufacturer (a device can also be a piece of software) has to get
> such a key, under the usual "industry standard" abusive conditions,
> perhaps involving some money changing hands.
>
> Now DeCSS managed to circumvent all that -uh- circus, which AFAIK
> involves some "leaked" keys (remember each "device", that involves
> software, has some key somehow embedded in it. Obfuscation makes it
> difficult, yet not impossible to extract the key).
>
> The currently preferred libdvdcss uses another approach and doesn't
> need leaked keys.
>
> In some jurisdictions, the wormtongue^H^H "content industry" lobbies
> have managed to make it illegal to circumvent (or help in circumventing)
> such "intellectual property protection schemes". Even talking about
> it (as I am doing now) might be considered iffy in some jurisdictions
> (I think the situation is a tad better these days, but I might be
> wrong). This is the famous DMCA in the USA, although we have similarly
> appetizing things over here in the EU.
>
> The gist of the thing is that you *might* get in hot water by even
> offering such a library in the InterTubes (the original DeCSS author
> actually got into legal hot water). And that the laws and their
> exceptions are so mushy as to be ideal food for lawyers. The kind of
> warm and humid climate where FUD grows best.
>
> In a nutshell, best to get politically involved or at least to
> throw some money at those fighting the good fight (in the USA you
> have a huge choice, like the EFF and the FSF to name but two).
>
> Read more here:
>
> [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_scrambling_system
> [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeCSS
> [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libdvdcss
>
> Regards
> -- tomás
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