WO RECENT cases have considered the impact of the posting of identical, highly sensitive computer code on the Internet. Applying different bodies of intellectual property law, they reached opposite conclusions as to whether the continued posting should be enjoined. Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley,[1]� applying the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, affirmed a permanent injunction against the posting of, and hyperlinking to, sites containing a computer code known as DeCSS. DeCSS “descrambles” the protective code preventing unauthorized access to and copying of DVD’s (digital versatile disks). DVD Copy Control Assn. v. Bunner,[2]� now on appeal to the California Supreme Court, reversed the trial court’s grant of a preliminary injunction to enjoin disclosure of the same DeCSS code as a trade secret, while leaving open the question of whether a permanent injunction or damages would be appropriate.
The cases illustrate the Internet’s potential to put intellectual property at immediate, worldwide risk; suggest practical pointers intellectual property owners should observe to protect their property; and, particularly in the trade secrets case that is now on appeal, leave open a variety of provocative legal issues.
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