Figure out how something works - Go to Jail

Jon Johansen was a curious 15 year old Norwegian boy who decided to try to figure out how to play DVD movies on his Linux Box. He was successful. Subsequently charges were brought against him by Norwegian prosecutors for the piece of software he developed that allowed people to decrypt a DVD movie.

Apparently the contents of these files (decss.tar.gz, 21k), which might allow you to decrypt a DVD movie that you have bought and paid for, could be illegal for you to see, use, or potentially understand.

Many people rallied to support the right to figure out how things work by posting the files on their web pages, or by linking to someone who posted the files on their web page, including 2600. The MPAA has sent threatening letters and followed with legal action against sites which post or link to the files above. The publisher of 2600, Emmanuel Goldstein, went to court under the support of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The decision was handed down on 8/17/2000 against 2600. The plaintiffs were: 

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. 
   Disney Enterprises, Inc.
  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. 
  Paramount Pictures Corporation 
      TriStar Pictures, inc. 
  Twentieth Centry Fox Film Corporation 
    United Artists Pictures, Inc. 
    United Artists Corporation 
    Univeral City Studios, Inc. 
    Warner Bros., a Division of 
  Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.
The losers are all of us.