Hollywood And RealNetworks Head To Court Over DVD Ripping

from the fun-to-watch dept

As was widely expected when RealNetworks announced plans to release some DVD ripping software, the lawsuits are now flying. RealNetworks rushed to court to ask for a declaratory judgment, though the MPAA admitted it had its own lawsuit ready to go as well. Real getting to the courthouse faster may mean slightly more favorable jurisdiction for the company. In the meantime, it seems like the MPAA is facing a huge uphill battle here, as Real's software includes its own DRM, so it's hardly a case of allowing widespread copying. Plus, making personal backups is allowed under copyright law. The real issue is where two conflicting parts of the law collide: the right to make personal backups and the DMCA's prohibition on circumventing DRM. Real claims that since it adds its own layer of DRM, the studios' DRM is not circumvented. That may make the most sense from the standpoint of the lawsuit, but it still seems like a strong case could be made by simply focusing on how people have a right to make personal backups. Of course, this lawsuit is something of a marketing stunt. There are better DVD rippers out there that are available for free, so it's difficult to see Real ever getting very far with this product, no matter what happens with the lawsuit.

Filed Under: anti-circumvention, dmca, dvd ripping
Companies: 321 studios, mpaa, realnetworks

RealNetworks Picks Fight With Hollywood; Plans To Release DVD Ripping Software

from the legal-battles-on-the-horizon dept

You may remember about six years ago, a company named 321 Studios released a product called DVD X Copy, that was designed to allow you to rip a DVD to a digital file on your computer. Despite the fact that the law is clear that making a backup copy like this is perfectly legal, the problem (from the movie studios' perspective) was that this software got around the encryption they put on DVDs, and thanks to the "anti-circumvention" clause of the DMCA, the act of getting around that DRM (even if for a perfectly legal reason) was illegal. Unfortunately, 321 Studios lost that suit and eventually went out of business, when it became to expensive to continue to fight the studios. It was a very bad ruling, highlighting the more ridiculous aspects of the DMCA, but without anyone else willing to take the case further, not much has happened in the space since. There are plenty of DVD ripping tools out there, but none from a major company... until now.

Apparently, Rob Glaser over at RealNetworks is so desperate for some attention that Real is releasing its own DVD ripping program, though it's loaded down with its own limitations. You'll only be able to watch the movie on the machine you ripped it to -- or can transfer it to another machine, but with a limit of 5 machines, and each of those machines has to have a purchased copy of the same software. In other words, while it rips the movie, it puts its own restrictive DRM on it as well, which hardly seems appealing -- especially at $30, when there are DVD ripping products for free that don't have such restrictions.

Yet, the nameless Hollywood insiders still think that Real will get sued over the product, which is probably what Glaser is hoping for (in order to get the free press). So, even if the product is likely to be a dud, the resulting lawsuit could be pretty important in determining the limitations of the DMCA's anti-circumvention clause -- or, at least, reminding the American public that the DMCA's anti-circumvention clause leads to ridiculous situations, such as making it illegal to provide a product that does perfectly legal things.

Filed Under: anti-circumvention, dmca, dvd ripping
Companies: 321 studios, realnetworks