Time for déjà vu all over again. IDG News Service reports that a company called 321 Studios is less than a month from being ready to sell you its tools to duplicate your DVDs, bit-for-bit. To fray the entertainment industry's nerves even more, 321's software uses controversial DeCSS decryption code. (Not to be missed: this truly inspired DeCSS haiku.)

The law allows consumers to make copies of videotapes and CDs, so it was a matter of time before a battle would erupt over DVDs. 321 claims it's fair use to create a back-up copy (point #3 of the DigitalConsumer.org Bill of Rights). To force the issue, they've very strategically filed a pre-emptive motion in the U.S. District Court against the movie industry to support their claim. (A hearing is scheduled for 10/15 in San Francisco.) Our EFF friend Fred von Lohmann weighs in on the fair use angle: "If someone wants to make fair use of a DVD they bought, they need to circumvent the copy protection technology to do that."

Seems like what won't kill the DMCA will make it stronger.