CA Supreme Court Thwarts Hollywood's War on Cyberspace

18 December 2000

Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 02:03:04 -0800
From: Robin Gross <robin@eff.org>
Subject: EFF Press Release: CA Supreme Court Thwarts Hollywood's War on Cyberspace

EFF DVD Update: California DeCSS Trade Secret Litigation

DVD-CCA v. Pavlovich

CA Supreme Court Thwarts Hollywood's War on Cyberspace

The California Supreme Court delivered a severe blow to the movie industry's attempt to ban DeCSS software and control speech on the Net. On December 13, 2000 it granted Matthew Pavlovich's petition for review based on lack of personal jurisdiction over him. The high court sent the matter back to the trial judge to show why the non-California resident should remain in the case.

The Supreme Court's unanimous decision signals its disapproval of the lower court's attempt to exercise personal jurisdiction over the Indiana college student who published DeCSS on a Web site hosting various Linux-based open-source projects.

The ruling marks a victory for civil liberties on the Net. While not writing a complete opinion, the seven justices sent a message to California lower courts about the Constitutional limitations to exert power over out-of-jurisdiction defendants. If allowed to stand, the lower court's order could have eliminated the traditional limits on jurisdiction and allowed nearly limitless California jurisdiction over individuals around the world for simply using the Internet.

"The Supreme Court has re-affirmed the principle that you don't lose your Constitutional due process rights when you enter cyberspace," stated Pavlovich's attorney Allonn Levy of the HS Law Group in San Jose. Levy also serves as Electronic Frontier Foundation's lead litigator in its California DeCSS defense team of Andrew Bunner, Pavlovich's co-defendant. Levy's co-counsel in defense of Pavlovich and Bunner, EFF staff attorney Robin Gross said of the ruling, "that it is proof that perseverance is required to preserve liberty when litigating these issues."

Last year the movie industry, represented by its trade group DVD-CCA, filed a lawsuit in California alleging trade secret misappropriation. It attempted to force dozens of "named" individuals and 500 "John Does" located all over the world to come to San Jose to defend their publication of DeCSS software on their Web sites. DeCSS is free software that allows people to play DVDs without technological restrictions, such as region codes, that are preferred by movie studios. At a preliminary hearing in January, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge William Elfving ordered the named defendants to remove their postings pending the case's outcome at trial.

One of those named defendants was Pavlovich, who argued that there was no basis for the California court to have jurisdiction over him. The Supreme Court overturned the Superior court's denial of Pavlovich's motion to dismiss the case against him for lack of personal jurisdiction, based on the fact that he has no connection with the state.

British citizen Derek Fawcus and journalist Emmanuel Goldstein of 2600 Magazine also have motions pending, contesting DVD-CCA and the California court's attempt to exert jurisdiction over them. Goldstein also is a defendant in EFF's appeal of an injunction issued by a New York trial court under the DMCA banning him from publishing the code. EFF's California DeCSS defense team expects the court to set a trial date for Bunner in early February 2001.