How did the DVD industry respond to the CSS break?
Almost immediately after the CSS reverse engineering was complete, the DVD-CCA and the MPAA began sending threatening letters to the owners of websites offering CSS decryption programs for download. These letters successfully intimidated some web sites into removing the programs. Similar letters are still being sent today. Often letters are sent to individuals’ internet service providers, who sometimes remove the programs or suspend access because they fear the cost of legal scuffles. One university student lost his job at the university because of a letter from the MPAA. These letters have threatened legal action for theft of trade secrets, copyright infringement, contempt of court, and trafficking in circumvention technology. Many letters have been sent to people and places outside of the United States, threatening lawsuits in U.S. courts and quoting U.S. court injunctions. Some of these letters have suggested that the recipient would be in violation of a court order when in fact the
