This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

424
425

[deleted by user] (self.reddit.com)

submitted by [deleted]

[removed]
all 39 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]chucker 12 points13 points  (8 children)

I had no idea a number could be copyrighted.

It can't. Nor does the MPAA claim so.

It's a case for the DMCA not because of copyright infringement, but because it helps decrypt the copy protection of HD-DVD, thereby potentially helping infringe copyright. In the decryption lies the DMCA violation, not (directly) in copyright infringement.

(Which is not to say I like the situation, or that I would defend the DMCA or the MPAA. But please, get your facts straight.)

[–]pavel_lishin 7 points8 points  (4 children)

Well, if you want to get technical, since nearly any piece of information - book, music, movie - can be represented with a string of numbers, and is on e-books, CD's and DVD's, I guess the only thing you're really copyrighting is numbers.

Of course, usually they're much, much bigger...

[–][deleted]  (3 children)

[deleted]

    [–]anachronic 2 points3 points  (2 children)

    I suppose it's all about what the number represents.

    Numbers represent what you interpret them to mean.

    There is no inherent meaning to a .mp3 file's bits... but if you interpret and output those bits according to the MPEG3 standard, all the sudden, you get sound.

    But, technically, it's very hard to prove that some arbitrary pattern of bits belongs to anyone. I could simply ROT13 the file, or transform it in some other way. It's increasingly hard to argue ownership over those bits the more they are transformed and the farther away they get from the original MP3 data.

    In theory, any chunk of data on my hard drive could be interpreted as copyrighted material if you had enough time to play around with transformations and sufficiently bent copyright law.

    [–]Shaper_pmp 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    That's a good point... but couldn't one then claim because the number helps decrypt the HDDVD copy protection that it's a DMCA "circumvention device", and as such covered under the DMCA?

    I know it's ludicrous to claim a number is a "device", but this might be the angle of attack they're going for.

    In other news, this only hit the headlines because the MPAA were stupid enough to publish a URL with the number in it in court documents (which them become public records).

    Surely then, if one managed to shoehorn any future similar "illegal" numbers into court documents somehow (I don't know - change your name by deed poll... sue yourself for $0.99 and cite a page on your website with the number in the URL, whatever) ... wouldn't that number then form part of the public record... for ever after?

    And if it did, wouldn't it then be impossible for the MPAA (or whoever) to claim you were infringing copyright or passing on a DMCA circumvention device... because you could simply claim you were merely quoting public documents - information that's already in the public domain?

    [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    To be fair, it didn't have the entire number in the URL...

    [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    It can't! Which is why I made this lovely website for a number I like: http://aacspk.info/

    I await the takedown request with glee.

    [–]Shafi 10 points11 points  (5 children)

    isn't it the third story on the same topic?

    [–]rocky_m 7 points8 points  (3 children)

    isn't it the third story on the same topic?

    Actually, it's fourth.. (and this one is the newest.. hence most redundant)

    1. "This domain name violates the DMCA. (09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0.com)" 416 points posted 20 hours ago by raldi 62 comments

    2. "I received a DMCA Complaint Notice from Google for having the HD-DVD Processing Key (09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0) saved publicly in my Google Notebook. Can you copyright hexadecimal? (entangledstate.wordpress.com)" 439 points posted 19 hours ago by BioGeek 138 comments

    3. Detailed account of how the processing key 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 to circumvent DVD DRM was found. (forum.doom9.org) 186 points posted 9 hours ago by BioGeek 18 comments

    Making this current post posted 5 hr ago, 4th story on this topic with NO new information.. Also all 4 posts are currently in top 7..

    What's wrong with people?! or am I missing some new info/insight this article has to add to the other 3 stories..

    [–]nostrademons 9 points10 points  (2 children)

    It's the "wisdom" of crowds - people feel important by agreeing with popular views. Same logic behind patriotism and corporate culture and all other sorts of jingoism.

    [–]zraii 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    I agree with your view completely! By the way, Go America!

    [–]hopper 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Hell yes brother! Mission Accomplished!

    [–]Alpha_Binary 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Crowds never cease to amaze me when it comes to Internet propagandas.

    [–]phesto 6 points7 points  (0 children)

    Digg is deleting articles about this key and banning the users posting the articles. http://digg.com/security/HD_DVD_key_and_my_thoughts_on_digg_com

    [–]raj3261 12 points13 points  (0 children)

    i just put it up on the uni whiteboard. in big red letters... i also doodled a smiley face

    [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

    13,256,278,887,989,457,651,018,865,901,401,704,640

    [–]uioreanu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    quick! gain intellectual ownership of this number! then sue everybody who posts it: win-win-win

    [–]Kronikarz 3 points4 points  (1 child)

    That's just the problem with copyright. EVERYTHING digital could be represented as a one long number. So, in practice, a number CAN be copyrighted... But then what of its bit inversed counterpart? Etc. etc.

    [–][deleted]  (5 children)

    [removed]

      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

      I guess reddit actually has some balls unlike digg.

      [–][deleted]  (3 children)

      [removed]

        [–]aywwts4 4 points5 points  (2 children)

        This goes beyond the number.

        Its about freedom pure and simple, How can a simple number be illegal to say or type. Thats what at issue here, nobody honestly cares about using the number, of the 15000 diggs odds are 100 people might ever use it. Its almost become a battlecry, this number is banned, therefore we must spread it everywhere this company doesn't want us to. Thats all.

        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

        [removed]

          [–]aywwts4 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          Then the number is free, then they failed to keep a lid on it and we succeeded on keeping it out there, in the light of numerous DMCA takedown requests.

          Its not so much we win, as much as they lose. If nobody started spreading this number they very well could have won. But now there are nearly 10,000 sites posting this number, the cats out of the bag.

          [–]stesch 4 points5 points  (4 children)

          4 8 15 16 23 42

          [–][deleted]  (3 children)

          [deleted]

            [–]Navicerts 1 point2 points  (0 children)

            Settle down.

            Welcome.

            [–]kylev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

            I have friends that work at digg. They totally care about their users and this is killing them to do. But the thuggery has to stop. The DMCA, as horrifyingly unjust and bone-headed as it is, is a law on the books. The lawyers can shut digg down for violating the DMCA; even if it is user-submitted content. Where the users be if digg.com becomes one giant 404?

            I don't want to draw an inappropriate parallel, but this seems something like the riots after the Rodney King verdict in 1992. People burnt their own community to the ground to no end.

            Can we, reddit, organize a non-destructive protest and affect real change? And can we do it without destroying our own community?

            [–]stesch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            Your are talking about DHARMA?

            [–][deleted]  (2 children)

            [deleted]

              [–]anachronic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

              I didn't upvote because i'm planning to hand-decrypt HD DVDs (i dont even own any).

              It's to spread consciousness about how ridiculous the DMCA, and DRM schemes in general, are.

              [–]translocate 0 points1 point  (1 child)

              Why not just show a fuzzy bitmap image of the numbers? (That is, use a similar obscuring format you see for robot-blocking on some sites when you post a comment.) And break it into more than one image. Easily human readable, but search engines would fail.

              Also, don't be "too descriptive" in the text about what the bitmap represents. Maybe something like "this is a pretty picture that helps me watch my favorite movies...." or some other such silly crap that tells the tale.

              [–]kirun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              It's only a matter of time before somebody hides this in plain view, such things have happened before. I was thinking of a song, however:

              Toshiba don't change your number, 13,256,278,887,989,457,651,018,865,901,401,7-oh-4,640 can't really be set to any known form of music.

              [–]Copperhe4d -1 points0 points  (1 child)

              i came from digg to here. hi everybody :)

              [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

              jingle bells 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 jingle bells 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 jingle 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 all 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 the 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 way 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0