The case was brought by the California-based DVD Copy Control
Association (CCA), a group that licenses encryption software for
DVDs, against Matthew Pavlovich, now president of a Texas-based IT
consultancy.
The group claims that Pavlovich infringed trade secrets by
posting on his web site the source code that can be used to decrypt
Content Scrambling Code (CSS), a software system protecting
copyrighted motion pictures on DVDs.
Pavlovich posted the code, known as DeCSS, in 1999, when he was
a college student in Indiana. He claimed that he could not be sued
in California because he posted the code passively and had no
substantial contact with California. He also argued that he had no
intention to harm the state's computer and movie industries.
The DVD CCA, on the other hand, claimed that he should be sued
in California, since the movie industry, that was most harmed by
DVD copying, was based there.
The group's arguments were initially rejected by a lower court
in California. The Supreme Court, however, ruled yesterday 4-3 that
there was no evidence suggesting Pavlovich specifically targeted
California and therefore he could not be sued there.
The court ruled that Pavlovich should have known that his
activities would harm the movie industry, which is largely based in
California. It concluded, however, that this fact was not enough to
establish jurisdiction in the case of an out of state resident.
The decision does not prevent the DVD CCA from suing Pavlovich
in Texas. The court ruled that "Pavlovich may still face the music
– just not in California."
The decision could affect another 500 individuals who have been
sued by the DVD CCA for posting the code.
The California Supreme Court decision is available as a 53-page
PDF at:
www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S100809.PDF
