Source code is the means by which these instructions are expressed in ways that people can examine and understand.
Source code is speech.
On the Internet, there can be no genuine freedom of speech unless source code is a protected form of speech. The judge then enjoined Eric Corley, publisher of 2600 magazine, from assisting his readers in accessing code that unlocks DVD content. The Supreme Court has already laid the foundation for reversal of this ruling, in Justice Stevens' majority opinion striking down the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Given the Supreme Court's unambiguous statement, it is shocking to consider the precedent that Judge Kaplan proposes to create. Copyright law is not property law, despite the attempts of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America to paint themselves as aggrieved property owners merely trying to protect what's theirs.