libdvdcss
| Libdvdcss | |
|---|---|
| Basic data
|
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| developer | The VideoLAN project |
| Current version | 1.4.1 (January 8, 2018) |
| operating system | GNU / Linux , OpenSolaris , Mac OS X , Windows |
| programming language | C. |
| category | Library |
| License | GPL v2 |
| www.videolan.org/developers/libdvdcss | |
libdvdcss is a program library for decrypting DVDs that have been encrypted with CSS . The library, which is part of the VideoLAN project, is used by a large number of open source DVD players and is considered to be very portable. The operating systems GNU / Linux , BSD , Microsoft Windows , Mac OS X , BeOS , Solaris and HP-UX are supported . The software is licensed under the GNU GPL .
functionality
libdvdcss generates a list of possible keys. If none of the keys work (for example if the DVD is regionally coded), a brute force algorithm is used. Libdvdcss therefore ignores the region code of a DVD.
Legal assessment
Some Linux distributions don't include libdvdcss in their official package sources (such as openSUSE , Debian, and Ubuntu ) because CSS is patented and they don't want to risk litigation under laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act . Most countries in the world do not have software patents , but Linux distributions are finally available in the USA and want to stay that way.
In the official Debian repositories, however, there is the package libdvdread4 , with the help of which a libdvdcss installed from other sources is automatically integrated into the system so that it is used by software.
Germany
In Germany, § 95a , § 108b UrhG prohibit circumventing effective technical measures for copy protection without the consent of the copyright holder , unless the circumvention is solely for the private use of the perpetrator ( private copy ).
According to the Federal Ministry of Justice , software for circumventing CSS protection when using DVDs is a protective mechanism that is not subject to Section 95a UrhG, as it does not serve to protect against copying, but merely to restrict market access. The effectiveness is also questionable with regard to the availability of corresponding software such as DeCSS on the Internet.
However, Section 95a (2) UrhG contains legal definitions for the term “effective technical measures”. It is inherent in the regulation that technical measures can in principle also be effective if they can be circumvented. Otherwise, the prohibition of circumvention would become obsolete with the circumvention of technical measures as a result of the ineffectiveness thereby proven.
Finland
The Helsingin käräjäoikeus (Helsinki District Court) decided on May 25, 2007 that CSS could no longer be regarded as an effective copy barrier. The protection system was canceled in 1999.
Web links
- Article at Heise.de Finnish court considers DVD copy block "ineffective" from May 28, 2007
- Official website of libdvdcss at videolan.org (English)
- Article mentioning the prime number: "Prime number decrypts DVDs" on heise.de from March 19, 2001.
- Article on the publication of the libdvdcss: "libdvdcss: MPEG and DVD for every operating system" on Golem.de from June 20, 2001
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.videolan.org/developers/libdvdcss.html
- ↑ http://download.videolan.org/pub/libdvdcss/
- ^ The libdvdcss Open Source Project on Open Hub: Languages Page . In: Open Hub . (accessed on September 26, 2018).
- ↑ http://svn.videolan.org/filedetails.php?repname=libdvdcss&path=%2Ftrunk%2FCOPYING
- ↑ Debian Project: Package libdvdread4 at Debian . April 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ↑ Debian Wiki: DVD playback under Debian . April 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ↑ Elisabeth Keller-Stoltenhoff: Circumventing technical protective measures is not permitted , June 30, 2010.
- ↑ Copy protection and private copying: The Limits of Freedom , Spiegel Online , September 28, 2009.
- ↑ Martin Bahr: Legal FAQ: Questions about the new copyright law. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- ↑ Robert Gehring: Copy protection and digital rights management in everyday life , in: Federal Center for Political Education : Dossier Copyright , August 3, 2018, pp. 87 ff.
- ^ Draft law regulating copyright in the information society , BT-Drs. 15/38 of November 6, 2002, p. 26.
- ↑ cf. OLG Munich, judgment of October 23, 2008, Az .: 29 U 5696/07 , setting links to illegal software in the context of reporting is intentional aid to the distribution according to § 95a UrhG of illegal software to circumvent copy protection ( AnyDVD ).
- ↑ cf. Thomas Stadler: Is the circumvention of geo-locks illegal? February 14, 2014 on geoblocking
- ↑ Report from May 29, 2007 to the Institute for Copyright and Media Law
