No links to websites offering circumvention technology in Germany!

A Munich court of appeal upheld a lower court ruling,  that ordered German website Heise.de to remove a hyperlink to SlySoft's website. SlySoft is the maker of ANYDVD, a software product that allows cracking the copyright protection found on most DVD-Video discs, and CloneCD, a tool that allows backing up copy protected audio CDs.

According to the ruling, Heise  is free to report on software that can crack copy-protection mechanisms on DVDs, but has to refrain from linking to the software vendor's homepage. Freedom of the press does not protect Heise's right to link to the goods.

For more information on the case also see Update 31: Link To Site Selling DVD Circumvention Software has to be removed!

• August 9, 2005: German appeals court outlaws links to websites offering circumvention technology, immateriblog.de:
  "A Munich court of appeal upheld a lower court ruling, demanding that German IT news service Heise Online remove a link to Slysoft.com, an Antigua based company selling software enabling users to make copies of copy-protected CDs and DVDs. Legal experts criticised the decision as endangering press freedom."

• July 28, 2005: Niederlage für Heise - und Links in Deutschland, intern.de:
  "Der Heise-Verlag unterliegt im Rechtsstreit mit der Musikindustrie. Das OLG München bestätigt die Position der Labels, dass ein Link auf die Firma Slysoft zu weit geht."

• July 21, 2005: Heise dokumentiert Rechtsstreit mit der Musikindustrie, Heise:
  "In der kommenden Woche findet am Oberlandesgericht München die mündliche Verhandlung im Fall Heise versus Musikindustrie statt."