09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0

Bloggers who posted links to a software key (09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0) that would unlock the copy protection on some high-definition DVDs have been threatened with legal action.

The entertainment industry-backed consortium which developed the protection said that it was looking at “technical and legal tools” to confront bloggers who made the key available, saying they had “crossed the line.”

The 32-digit key appeared widely on the internet this week, including in a YouTube video and on T-shirts, and many bloggers considered publishing it as an exercise in free speech, one alluding to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.

Michael Ayers, chair of the group that built the software, which uses digital rights management (DRM) technology, said that there was “no intent from us to interfere with people's right to discuss copy protection,” and that the body had received "good cooperation from most folk" in preventing the leak of the key.

"Some people clearly think it's a First Amendment issue. We respect free speech – we know some people are critical of the technology,” Mr Ayers told the BBC.

Earlier this week a row broke out when Digg, a popular technology news site, took down links to the key, saying that it had received ‘ cease and desist’ order from the group which developed the protection, known as AACS.

Facing open revolt from readers angry that the site had deferred to the owners of Advanced Access Content System (AACS), the site’s founder, Kevin Rose, reposted the link to the key, saying that he would “deal with the consequences.”

Mr Ayers would not comment specifically on the AACS group’s plans, but said it would take “whatever action is appropriate. We hope the public respects our position and complies with applicable laws.”

He said that tracking down those who had published the key was a "resource-intensive exercise".

According to a Google search, almost 700,000 pages have published the key.

Only 700,000? A quick search for 09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63 56 88 c0 gives 1.2 million results.

Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of internet law at Harvard Law School, said that assuming the key could break a DVD, it's distribution would infringe the provisions of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DCMA).

"If a site isn't policing the distribution of the code, and a publisher has issued a takedown notice, which is then not obeyed, they would likely reserve their right to sue," he said.

Perhaps they should move with the times and scrap protection? They are, after all, behind the times with a lot of things. They use a very historic exchange rate when calculating prices $1:£1. Perhaps if they were sensible and stopped 'Treasure Island' pricing there would be fewer bootlegs as they would just not be worth buying.

Just in case the dreaded copyright police are reading this - we buy most of our dvds legaly from the USA and have a region 1 dvd drive on the computer BUT would far prefer to buy from the UK. CDs can be copied easily and they still sell wouldn't the same apply to dvds?

Many diggers that participated, believe that the so called 'riot', or 'rebellion' happened more because people have a legitimate reason for knowing the key. Linux users for one, and anyone who needs to make a backup (if you have young children you know) for whatever reason.

The current system doesn't allow for people to use their legally purchased media in a manor that is perfectly legal. Piracy will occur despite any action taken against it.

Anyone who would purchase any media still will, even if they download it first, if for no other reason than to support the ones responsible for creating it. The MIAA & RIAA know their time has come and are just making a mad grab for as much as they can, while they can.

WASHINGTON — Deaths and injuries from terrorist attacks worldwide increased sharply last year, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, with government officials, police and security guards coming under greater attack than ever before, the State Department concluded in its annual survey of global terrorism released Monday.

The U.S. government's study on terrorist trends and attacks found that more than 20,000 people died and more than 38,000 were injured in about 14,000 incidents last year, an increase of nearly 6,000 deaths, or 40%, over 2005, according to the department's "Country Reports on Terrorism 2006."

As in 2005, the vast majority of incidents and deaths occurred in the Middle East and South and Central Asia, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops and local forces are battling militants. The two regions also accounted for 90% of the 291 attacks considered high-casualty incidents because they killed 10 or more people, the report says.

The study finds that 45% of all incidents considered terrorist attacks, about 6,600 of them, occurred in Iraq, killing at least 13,340 people. The Iraq fatalities made up about 65% of the worldwide total of victims for the year. A United Nations report this year estimates that there were nearly 35,000 civilian casualties in Iraq last year, but does not blame terrorism for all of them.

As fighting has intensified in Afghanistan, 749 attacks were reported there in 2006, an increase of more than 50% over the 491 attacks reported for 2005, the U.S. report says. At least 1,040 people were killed in Afghanistan, up from 684 the prior year.

Russell Travers, deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, which compiled the statistics, said analysts used the State Department's definition of terrorist attacks: violence against noncombatants. That definition includes many attacks in Iraq that some contend are acts of guerrilla warfare. The figures do not include attacks on U.S. troops.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called the report "another reminder that the Bush administration has failed to make America more secure."

At a news briefing to discuss the report, Frank C. Urbancic Jr., acting State Department counterterrorism coordinator, acknowledged that the statistics could be used to question the effectiveness of counterterrorism measures.

"People who want to draw conclusions or who have prejudgments, they will draw those conclusions," he said, defending U.S. and coalition efforts.

The report says more than 11,200 government officials and police were attacked in 2006, up from 9,500 in 2005. Also, more than 1,800 children were victims of attacks in 2006, an increase of 80%, although officials said there was no orchestrated effort to target children.

The annual report is mandated by Congress as a way of informing policymakers, the public and allies about trends in terrorism. Critics of the Bush administration have accused officials in recent years of manipulating the statistics for political gain.

The 335-page report also concludes that violence against noncombatants rose by 65% in eastern and sub-Saharan Africa, particularly as a result of attacks associated with turmoil in or near Sudan and Nigeria.