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State high court to rehear DVD case

Hollywood's efforts to keep DVD cracking software off the Internet has taken another twist, with the California Supreme Court agreeing to review for the second time an appeals court decision in a closely watched trade secrets case. Earlier this year, the 6th District Court of Appeals found that Illinois resident Matthew Pavlovich can be tried in California, potentially setting a far-reaching precedent for jurisdiction in the Internet age. Pavlovich appealed, arguing a violation of the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution. Pavlovich is one of dozens of defendants sued by the DVD Copy Control Association for posting computer code known as DeCSS, which enables people to copy DVDs and play them on computers. The group argued that the postings violated California's trade secrets law. A parallel federal suit targeting Eric Corley, publisher of the 2600 Web site, was filed in New York.

Evan Hansen Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Department Editor Evan Hansen runs the Media section at CNET News.com. Before joining CNET he reported on business, technology and the law at American Lawyer Media.
Evan Hansen
Hollywood's efforts to keep DVD cracking software off the Internet has taken another twist, with the California Supreme Court agreeing to review for the second time an appeals court decision in a closely watched trade secrets case. Earlier this year, the 6th District Court of Appeals found that Illinois resident Matthew Pavlovich can be tried in California, potentially setting a far-reaching precedent for jurisdiction in the Internet age. Pavlovich appealed, arguing a violation of the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Pavlovich is one of dozens of defendants sued by the DVD Copy Control Association for posting computer code known as DeCSS, which enables people to copy DVDs and play them on computers. The group argued that the postings violated California's trade secrets law. A parallel federal suit targeting Eric Corley, publisher of the 2600 Web site, was filed in New York.