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Amen!  Thank you, Derek, for a wonderful treatment of the issue.

I agree that resetting the DVD region code (beyond the fifth "allowable" time) is a violation of the DMCA, but it would seem that the logical conclusion of that argument is that region-free DVD players are also not legal.  17 USC § 1201 (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201) states:

(2) No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that—
(A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;
(B) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title; or
(C) is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with that person with that person’s knowledge for use in circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.

The multiregion DVD player is designed solely for the purpose of circumventing region coding on DVDs, so it would certainly be covered under this statute. This seems to be yet another reason that Derek's suggestion to abolish DMCA is a good one.

Jon

************************************************
Jonathan Perkins, Director
Ermal Garinger Academic Resource Center
University of Kansas


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