Studios Secure Injunction Against RealNetworks

LOS ANGELES: RealNetworks has been hit with a temporary injunction on its RealDVD application, which allows consumers to copy DVDs to their PCs, by a federal judge, after the Hollywood studios filed a lawsuit against the company.

Last year, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), on behalf of the major Hollywood studios, filed suit to prevent RealNetworks from distributing its RealDVD software, which the MPAA maintains allows for the illegal duplication of movies. The studios contended that RealDVD circumvents the Content Scramble System (CSS) built into DVDs, which prevents unauthorized reproduction and distribution. The result, the suit stated, is users being able to “rent, rip and return”—renting legitimate DVDs and then copying them.

RealNetworks has countered with the argument that RealDVD comes equipped with piracy protections, limiting a consumer to making a single copy of a DVD.

U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, in ruling in favor of the studios, said: "The court appreciates Real’s argument that a consumer has a right to make a backup copy of a DVD for their own personal use," but, she added, "a federal law has nonetheless made it illegal to manufacture or traffic in a device or tool that permits a consumer to make such copies."

In response, RealNetworks issued a statement saying it was "disappointed" by the ruling and was reviewing it. "After we have done so fully, we’ll determine our course of action and will have more to say at that time."