Not really a new story, but very important: I received an e-mail from
someone, who wanted
advice after he got a note from Hot Maps, demanding he pay
for links. If you receive such a message, I
recommend you take a look at http://www.abmahnungswelle.de
or Forum B-L-R (both sources are in German):
If you are looking for more information about the
Meteodata case, here are two more resources, that were not mentioned before on
my website: Forum
B-L-Rand Stockhammer.
2. The latest news on the DeCSS case
Norwegian teenager Jon Johansen, the creator of a
computer program that enables unauthorised copying of DVDs, was acquitted of all
charges against him in a Norwegian court.
According to a ruling from the California Supreme
Court in November 2002, Andrew Brunner can not be sued in a California court,
because he resides in Texas: "the mere posting of information on a passive
Internet Web site, which is accessible from anywhere but is directed at no
particular audience, cannot be an action targeted at a particular (state)."
The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted a temporary
stay that barred Brunner from posting DeCSS on the internet, ending the DVD Copy
Control Association's effort to keep the California Supreme Court ruling from
taking effect.
Last year several news sources reported about the website dontlink.com from David Sorkin, associate professor of law at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. His website fights "stupid linking policies" that attempt to impose restrictions on other sites that link to them.
Links & Law also features a list of "stupid German linking policies".
This list got media attention in the last few days: