DVD-copying program sets stage for legal showdown (Daily Camera)

Posted Dec 29, 2002 2:38 UTC (Sun) by giraffedata (guest, #1954)
In reply to: DVD-copying program sets stage for legal showdown (Daily Camera) by Ross
Parent article: DVD-copying program sets stage for legal showdown (Daily Camera)

Terminology varies a little here, but in most court systems, asking a judge to make a decision of civil law is called "suing." The case in question here is in U.S. District Court, where that terminology does in fact apply.

The LWN article contains an error, by the way. The defendant in this suit is not the MPAA. The defendants are a bunch of big movie studios that own copyrights on movies.

In case you're wondering, in a case like this, what you sue "for" is called "declarative relief." I.e. rather than money or an injunction, you ask the judge just to award you a declaration that what you're thinking about doing won't make you liable to someone. Such a declaration has little legal weight and is rarely given in U.S. courts, which are really geared toward deciding very specific cases -- cases so specific that they can't effectively be argued hypothetically.