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Originally Posted by altis
The actual Statutory Instrument is here:
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/s...0032498.htm#24
I guess it all depends whether you can argue that the device is designed not just to defeat Macrovision - which is why many are advertised as 'video enhancers'. Advertising something as a 'Macrovision defeater' is clearly illegal. |
I'd agree with that. And for that reason, I think the law is effectively meaningless so far as Macrovision Inc. is concerned. It would be easy to demonstrate in court that there is a legitimate need for such a device for video enhancement/stabilisation. Once this is proven, the fact that it also disables Macrovision is irrelevant.
However I don't think this will prevent Macrovision doing a bit of sabre-rattling. They would be quite prepared to take people to court and are hoping that the threat of court costs will be enough to get get retailers to back down.
Note by the way in point (b) that private and domestic use is specifically excluded from the law - you can't be prosecuted for buying one of these things from an American website, even if it is sold on that site as a 'Macrovision Eliminator'.