Barry Willis

Is computer code that allows a user to violate a copyright a protected form of free speech, or is it an "illegal device"? The <A HREF="http://www.mpaa.org/">Motion Picture Association of America</A> (MPAA) has aggressively pursued legal action against internet entrepreneurs, such as <A HREF="http://www.2600.com/"><I>2600, the Hacker Quarterly</I></A>, that promoted DeCSS, a 57-kilobyte code, invented in 1999 by 15-year-old Norwegian student Jon Lech Johansen, that allows DVDs to be copied onto computers' hard drives and then transmitted over the internet.

An Asian telecommunications company has successfully transmitted uncompressed HDTV and SDTV video between Japan and the US using fiber optic cable. The results prove the superiority of fiber optics over satellite transmission, the company claims.

In retail, they are called "loss leaders"&mdash;promotional items used as lures to generate more business. The <A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/">British Broadcasting Corporation</A> is considering giving away digital set-top boxes to subscribers as "seed" to help develop interest in digital television, according to public comments made February 8 by the organization's director general Greg Dyke.

Are bulk discounts and revenue sharing arrangements with suppliers illegal? A group of independent video dealers thinks so. The dealers have teamed up to sue <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com/">Blockbuster Video</A>, the industry's undisputed leader, over what they claim are "illegal practices" that they contend have caused many of their colleagues to go out of business.