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Hollywood Studios Sue DVD Software Maker
Thu December 19, 2002 11:01 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Seven Hollywood studios filed a countersuit against the privately held maker of popular DVD-copying software on Thursday, claiming that the product is a boon to copyright piracy.
321 Studios, a maker of DVD copying software, had filed suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in April asking for a ruling that its products do not violate the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
That controversial 1998 law bars creating or distributing technology that can be used to circumvent copyright protections on software, movies and music.
In the countersuit filed on Thursday in the same U.S. District Court, the studios asked for a permanent injunction ordering 321 Studios to stop making its DVD-copying software and for it to surrender all copies of the programs.
The studios also asked the federal court to order the company to turn over any profits it has made from the software, which they said was based on -- or similar to -- a bootleg program to crack the so-called Content Scramble System used to protect DVDs.
That program, DeCSS, was posted to the Internet by hackers who discovered the CSS encryption code, they said.
"We do not believe that we are in violation of the DMCA," said Elizabeth Sedlock, a spokeswoman for 321 Studios. "We ultimately want to be the voice of reason in this debate between copyright holders and consumer rights."
Sedlock said the Chesterfield, Missouri-based company believes its products are covered by the "fair use" provision of copyright law and allow consumers to make legitimate copies for personal use.
321 Studios makes DVD X Copy, which allows users to copy DVDs directly onto blank DVDs. An earlier version called Copy Plus copied DVD data onto a recordable CD.
In less than a year, Copy Plus sold over 100,000 units and turned a hobby into a full-fledged business, 321 founder and president Robert Moore has said.
Hollywood's major studios object to DVD copying software and worry that copyright pirates will use it to sell pristine, digital copies of the DVDs illegally or load free copies onto the Internet.
By doing so, the copyright pirates would then bypass normal distribution, depriving studios and filmmakers of profits, the studios charge.
Since their launch only five years ago, DVDs have become a huge moneymaker for the studios, raking in some $4.6 billion in 2001 sales and ranking as one of the fastest-growing consumer products of all time.
In the court papers filed on Thursday, the studios said that more than 4,000 movie titles have already been released in the United States on DVD with 40 new releases per month.
A spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the studios, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The studios filing countersuit in federal court included Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc., TriStar Pictures, Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures, Time Warner Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Vivendi Univeral's Universal Studios and The Saul Zaentz Company.
There is no court date yet set in the matter.
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From:- http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=1940024
Thu December 19, 2002 11:01 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Seven Hollywood studios filed a countersuit against the privately held maker of popular DVD-copying software on Thursday, claiming that the product is a boon to copyright piracy.
321 Studios, a maker of DVD copying software, had filed suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in April asking for a ruling that its products do not violate the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
That controversial 1998 law bars creating or distributing technology that can be used to circumvent copyright protections on software, movies and music.
In the countersuit filed on Thursday in the same U.S. District Court, the studios asked for a permanent injunction ordering 321 Studios to stop making its DVD-copying software and for it to surrender all copies of the programs.
The studios also asked the federal court to order the company to turn over any profits it has made from the software, which they said was based on -- or similar to -- a bootleg program to crack the so-called Content Scramble System used to protect DVDs.
That program, DeCSS, was posted to the Internet by hackers who discovered the CSS encryption code, they said.
"We do not believe that we are in violation of the DMCA," said Elizabeth Sedlock, a spokeswoman for 321 Studios. "We ultimately want to be the voice of reason in this debate between copyright holders and consumer rights."
Sedlock said the Chesterfield, Missouri-based company believes its products are covered by the "fair use" provision of copyright law and allow consumers to make legitimate copies for personal use.
321 Studios makes DVD X Copy, which allows users to copy DVDs directly onto blank DVDs. An earlier version called Copy Plus copied DVD data onto a recordable CD.
In less than a year, Copy Plus sold over 100,000 units and turned a hobby into a full-fledged business, 321 founder and president Robert Moore has said.
Hollywood's major studios object to DVD copying software and worry that copyright pirates will use it to sell pristine, digital copies of the DVDs illegally or load free copies onto the Internet.
By doing so, the copyright pirates would then bypass normal distribution, depriving studios and filmmakers of profits, the studios charge.
Since their launch only five years ago, DVDs have become a huge moneymaker for the studios, raking in some $4.6 billion in 2001 sales and ranking as one of the fastest-growing consumer products of all time.
In the court papers filed on Thursday, the studios said that more than 4,000 movie titles have already been released in the United States on DVD with 40 new releases per month.
A spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America, which represents the studios, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The studios filing countersuit in federal court included Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Studios Inc., TriStar Pictures, Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures, Time Warner Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Vivendi Univeral's Universal Studios and The Saul Zaentz Company.
There is no court date yet set in the matter.
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From:- http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=1940024