Real throws in towel on RealDVD case

Jake Widman
Thursday, 04 March 2010 10:36

IT Industry - Strategy

RealNetworks has given up its effort to sell the DVD backup product RealDVD and will refund its customers' money and pay the movie studios' legal expenses.

At issue was the legality of RealDVD, software that copied a DVD to an owner's hard disk while preserving its copy protection.

The software went on sale in the fall of 2008. The Motion Picture Association of America promptly sued, RealNetworks countersued, and the case got underway last April.

In August, the judge issued an injunction, stopping the sale of RealDVD in any form. (There was speculation that Real was planning to bring out a set-top box that would incorporate RealDVD.)

In January, the judge issued a final order dismissing Real's countersuit "with prejudice" against Real. In the wake of that decision, Real founder and CEO Rob Glaser left the company.

Now the final final shoe has dropped. Real has agreed to withdraw its appeal of the injunction, abide by a permanent injunction, turn off its service that provided cover art and information for copied DVDs, refund its customers' money, and pay the studios US$4.5 million in legal expenses.

Apparently, the agreement also stipulates a little groveling, as Real acting CEO Bob Kimball issued a statement saying, "We are pleased to put this litigation behind us'¦.Until this dispute, Real had always enjoyed a productive working relationship with Hollywood.  With this litigation resolved, I hope that in the future we can find mutually beneficial ways to use Real technology to bring Hollywood's great work to consumers."