MP3.com has banned a song that witters on about the DVD hacking code DeCSS. In the song, Joseph Wecker sings a version of the code - which is subject to various lawsuits in the US over its being a hacking tool.

It doesn't sound like a top ten hit, but MP3.com has decided that the lyrics are "offensive or otherwise inappropriate". Web site 2600.com got in hot water when it posted the code and MP3.com doesn't want the same hassle.

The code writers claim DeCSS was designed to play legal DVDs on Linux. But it's the added bonus that the software breaks through copy protection that has got on the Motion Picture Association of America's nerves. It's a kinda Napster for the video industry.

Wecker told CNet: "It's gone one step too far. It's illegal to photocopy a copyrighted poem. But now it's like it has become illegal to tell someone how the Xerox works."

We think it's shocking that by getting so much press attention DeCSS has now entered the mainstream. We're considering suing ourselves. ®

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