The case DVD CCA v. Bunner presented issues that focused on whether Andrew Bunner of California, had a free speech right to post a computer program on the Internet that was developed, with aid of information derived from reverse engineering allegedly in violation of a mass-market license. This column will answer questions in regards to the case and explain ethical considerations as to why or why not the defendant is more analogous to the common criminal.
In 2000 the DVD CCA charged Andrew Bunner, along with others with trade secret misappropriation for posting on their websites a program called DeCSS that was substantially derived from trade secrets that were embodied in an encryption program, the Content Scramble System (CSS). CSS is widely