'DVD Jon' could be back in court if Norwegian prosecutors go ahead with their plan to appeal against the verdict that cleared him of any wrongdoing for distributing DVD encryption-cracking software.

Jon Lech Johanson, now 19, wrote the DeCSS program when he was just 15, in order to watch his own DVDs on his Linux computer. But the software was placed on a website and copied all over the world.

A Norwegian court that did not believe he had violated the country's law acquitted him unanimously.

But Johansen's attorney Halvor Manshaus told the Electronic Frontier Foundation that the prosecution has now decided to appeal this court ruling.

Manshaus explained that such a move was not unexpected, as the prosecution has flagged Johansen's case as one of principal interest.

Norway's appeals court, Borgarting Iagmannsrett, may decide not to grant the appeal, however, as there is a screening principle for criminal cases.

But Manshaus said that if the appeal is granted, there will be full proceedings before the appeal court on all aspects, both factual evidence and legal arguments, of the case.

He added that he was positive about the case's final outcome.