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From: Don Marti <dmarti@zgp.org>
Subject: Great International DVD Source Code Distribution Contest
Date: Tue,  4 Jan 2000 22:19:05 GMT


INTERNET CONTEST TO PROMOTE WORLDWIDE SPREAD OF DVD SOFTWARE FOR LINUX

December 30, 1999 
For Immediate Release

In response to baseless legal threats by the motion picture industry,
Internet users have begun a worldwide contest to develop creative
methods to distribute free software to play DVD movies under Linux. The
contest is based in the Bay Area and will be judged by local Linux and
Internet experts.

An industry organization called the DVD CCA recently attempted to get
a temporary restraining order to prohibit Internet distribution of DVD
software for Linux, even though it the software is only useful for
playing DVD movies, not for copying one DVD to another, and was written
from scratch, not by violating the copyright of any previous software.

There have been no reported cases of anyone using Linux software to make
illegal copies of DVD movies -- only to watch them.

The three winners of the contest will be the person who distributes the
most copies of DVD software for Linux, and the people who develop the
best "high-tech" and the best "low-tech" methods for doing do.

"The contest is a direct response to legal bullying by DVD CCA," said
organizer Donald B. Marti Jr. "A well-financed industry organization is
threatening independent web sites, when Linux users are only trying to
watch the movies they already paid for."

There have been no reports of anyone using Linux software to make
illegal copies of DVD movies -- only to watch them.

The Great International DVD Source Code Distribution Contest web site is
located at: http://dvd.zgp.org/

The prizes will be DVD movies.

-- 
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