'DVD Jon' faces new trial for piracy

In January, an Oslo court acquitted 19-year-old Jon Johansen of charges that he developed a computer program that enabled mass copying of movies on DVDs.

Hollywood studios accused Johansen of developing the software and posting his findings on the Internet.

Johansen's attorney, Halvor Manshaus, said Tuesday that he had received a letter from the Borgarting appeals court, stating that it had set aside eight days from Dec. 2 for the appeal hearing.

"I regard our prospects for the appeal as positive. We are in a stronger position now than ever before since we won the first time,'' Manshaus said.

The first-round acquittal was a blow to Hollywood, which is on a global campaign to crack down on piracy. The U.S. motion picture industry estimates piracy costs it $3 billion annually in lost sales.

The Motion Picture Association of America, representing major Hollywood studios such as Walt Disney, Universal Studios and Warner Bros., filed the original complaint at Norway's Economic Crime Unit.

The Oslo district court ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove that Johansen's program--called DeCSS--had been used for illegal copying of DVDs, saying he was entitled to copy legally purchased DVDs.

Prosecutors in January lodged an appeal, objecting to the application of the law and the presentation of evidence.

There is no specific legislation in Norway that bars the digital duplication of copyrighted material, but Johansen's program has been made a criminal offense in the United States under the Digital Copyright Millennium Act.

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