Burkhard Wölfel wrote: > Am 15.03.2009 um 14:05 schrieb Ralf Mardorf: > >> >>> The >>> Debian Multimedia folks have codecs for this format, but there may be >>> legal issues regarding the use of their packages. The >>> responsibility is >>> yours to determine if or which formats/packages may violate local laws. >> >> In Germany this isn't a problem. It's not allowed, but tolerated by the >> law. > > Seems like I missed something over the last few years. Could you give > me a reliable source for what you are saying here? > >> [...] >> but if you e.g. have a legal bought music CD and you >> will upload a backup of this CD, for your own security, it's allowed to >> do that. > > Not true if you are circumventing drm doing this. > > I wouldn't recommend to mistake Ralf's interpretation as sound legal > advice. > > - Burkhard
Hi Burkhard :) it's a legal limbo. I never heard that any people that provide css and codecs by a Linux repository ever get troubles with the German law. Has anybody in Germany using Cinelerra ever get troubles with the law? Codecs are protected by the German law, but I never heard of criminal prosecution, if some freeware coders programed software that is able to play video and audio material, that is using non-free codecs. On a German Linux board somebody asked, if he can do something, because he has forgotten his user and the superuser passwords. Somebody answered and a moderator deleted the answer. I started a discussion by private mail and asked if I will be allowed to write again what to do, but I wasn't allowed to do that. The argument was, that administrators are not allowed to permit such security related howtos, because this will be punished with imprisonment. This are old wives' tales, like the belief that the GNU has any juridical relevance in Germany or you have to add a "(C)" to pictures to protect them. Freeware and pictures etc. are protected by the law of intellectual property. It's not allowed to upload illegal cracks and hordes of lawyers swamp German law courts with inquires to check IPs. The judges are sick of these inquires. You only will get trouble, if you over and over upload illegal cracks or if you make money by selling illegal cracks. Here is a link about downloading videos and music: http://www.rp-online.de/public/article/digitale/internet/597565/Freibrief-fuer-illegale-Downloads.html Do you know anybody, who ever get troubles, because he used a crack of Photoshop? You are allowed to make a analogue copy of a DRM protected audio CD. Okay, there might be a lot forbidden by the law, but a lot is tolerated. On the other hand there are a lot of things not tolerated and strictly forbidden. A German isn't allowed to smoke Marihuana in the Netherlands, even if the Netherlands allow Germans to smoke a joint in a coffee shop. It's because it's forbidden to do that, by the German law, anyhow I never heard of someone who gets trouble when he told the police that he smoked 1 joint in the Netherlands. You only will get a verbal warning, even if the law says you have to get a complaint. I'm against cracks, even for my Windows I'm using freeware like QuickTime Alternative, but I won't take care about any laws for non-free codecs. I know that Apple planed to bring out codecs as consumer standard, so that everybody needs to buy Apple products, but in Germany we have laws against monopolies and to protect free access to information. Bill Gates got a lot of trouble because of such laws. Cheers, Ralf
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