Originally published Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Hollywood sues RealNetworks to block DVD copying software
. LOS ANGELES — Hollywood's six major movie studios today sued RealNetworks to prevent it from distributing DVD copying software that...
The Associated Press
.
LOS ANGELES — Hollywood's six major movie studios today sued RealNetworks to prevent it from distributing DVD copying software that they said would allow consumers to "rent, rip and return" movies or even copy friends' DVD collections outright.
The studios stand to lose key revenue from the sale of DVDs, estimated by Adams Media Research at $14 billion this year, if consumers stop buying DVDs and copy rental discs from outlets like Netflix and Blockbuster instead.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges RealNetworks' RealDVD program, which launched today, illegally bypasses the copyright protection built into DVDs.
"The incentive for the consumer is obvious and all but overwhelming," the studios said in a request for a temporary restraining order. " 'Why,' he or she may ask, 'should I pay $18.50 to purchase a DVD when I can rent it for $3.25 and make a permanent copy?"'
For $30, consumers can buy RealDVD and use it to copy DVDs to computers or portable hard drives, though the program prevents them from transferring the files to other users. The maker calls RealDVD "100 percent legal" on its Web site.
"This is not a product that enables Internet piracy," said Bob Kimball, general counsel for RealNetworks.
Real has said the software enables DVDs to be copied onto up to five computers — with the purchase of up to four extra program licenses for $20 each — and does not alter the discs' encryption technology meant to prevent wide-scale piracy.
The software locks the copy to the hard drive where it is copied and to the program it was copied with, Kimball said, and he asserted that copying one's personal collection of DVDs amounts to "fair use" allowed by law.
Kimball said the company discourages using the program to rip rental DVDs, but he acknowledged there's nothing to prevent consumers from doing that.
"We are very open to coming up with solutions to that problem that will require industry participation," he said.
The studios had asked the company not to launch the product last week.
![]()
The studios argued that the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it illegal to circumvent technology that prevents copying without the express permission of the copyright holders.
In a motion for a restraining order, the studios argued that a ruling by a California state court last year in favor of a company that sells entertainment centers that allow DVD copying is irrelevant to their case.
The plaintiffs in the suit against RealNetworks include Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Sony's Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, General Electric's Universal, The Walt Disney Co.'s Disney studio, and Time Warner's Warner Bros.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
More Business & Technology headlines...
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
Nintendo re-enlists Mario, savior of video-game industry
Verizon-Frontier deal stirs concern among consumers
Brier Dudley: 'Guitar Hero' founder excited about future
UPDATE - 12:46 AM
Gaps for consumers in Democrat health care bills
NEW - 11:03 PM
Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Husky Men's Basketball Blog | Saturday's Pac-10 games in review
- Senate vote clears hurdle
239 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
134 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
125 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
123 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
122 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
79 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
62 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
54
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Nonprofits get creative using Twitter and Facebook to make donation easier
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Great places to cross-country ski for free (or almost) in the Methow
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors





