RealNetworks, movie studios square off in court

Jake Widman
Saturday, 25 April 2009 00:56

Business IT - Technology

RealNetworks claims that its software does not violate the Act because it doesn't remove the copy protection built into a DVD.

The software, says Real, copies the entire contents of a dVD, including the copy protection, locks the copy to a single hard disk, and doesn't permit the creation of a new DVD.

Quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Real spokesperson Bill Hankes claimed that "RealDVD is far more secure than the encryption on the actual DVD itself."

The movie companies would prefer that consumers buy DVDs that already come with a digital copy for archiving. Those DVDs that sell for more than the versions without such a copy, however.

The judge in the case is Marilyn Hall Patel, who presided over the well-known RIAA v. Napster case. That case, decided in 2001, resulted in a judgment against Napster and forced that company to develop a new business model.

At least Judge Patel should be up to speed on the issues involved in this new round.