"Effective": It Means What it Says

Filed in archive DRM , International , Legal on July 25, 2007

A Finnish Court rules that effective means effective. The issue is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the European counterpart, the European Copyright Directive (EUCD), which says it's illegal to circumvent "effective technological measures" that restrict access to copyrighted works.

What if the measures aren't effective?

The question came up in Finland where a web site published DVD decryption code. The owners were charged with violating the EUCD. The defendants argued that the encryption was ineffective as it had been circumvented and the crack widely available. The court agreed with the defendants.