Re:2600 a victim of their own reputation (Score 1)

> As much as I hate to say it, as much as it sucks, I'm afraid 2600 is fast becoming a victim of their own reputation.

This is surely irrelevant to the court case. Courts exist to evaluate the cases based on the evidence and facts available to them. "Reputation" and what everybody "knows" should be of no relevance to the court case. This is why (in the UK at least), juries are not necessarily informed of a defendant's previous convictions as these may prejudice the jury against the defendant. Similarly that 2600 want to "Free Kevin" is of no relevance to the distribution or linking of DeCSS source code.

It is a sad reflection of the American legal system that the "reputation" of 2600 and not their arguments in court have more influence on the outcome of the case.

Although IANAL it would seem that in this case the judge was clearly prejudiced against 2600, and that a higher court would look more favourably on 2600, especially given the previous legal precedent in their favour.