Hollywood Wins DVD-Copying Case 

A federal judge ruled on Friday that 321 Studios, a software developer, must stop selling its DVD copying program, delivering a huge win for the entertainment industry.

Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District Federal Court for California sided with the Motion Picture Association of America, which claimed that 321 Studios' DVD-X Copy and DVD Copy Plus software violate copyright law. The company, based in St. Charles, Missouri, must stop "manufacturing, distributing or otherwise trafficking in any type of DVD circumvention software" in seven days.

Story Tools

See also

• DAT's Entertainment, So Enjoy

Today's Top 5 Stories

• Extra! Extra! Read All About You
• Jamming Tags Block RFID Scanners
• Living Life in Virtual Reality
• Greenpeace Founder Green No More
• Another Virus to Worry About

Tech Jobs Partner

never settle.

321 Studios said they will appeal the ruling, and seek a stay from the judge during the appeal process.

"There is no difference between making a copy of a music CD for personal use and making a backup of a DVD movie for personal use," said Robert Moore, president of 321 Studios said in a statement. "We are so firm in our belief in the principle of fair use that we will appeal this ruling immediately. And we will take our fight all the way to the Supreme Court, if that's what it takes to win."

The MPAA declared the ruling a victory for the protection of its movies and the thousands of people who work in the movie industry.

"Companies have a responsibility to develop products that operate within the letter of the law and that do not expose their customers to illegal activities," said Jack Valenti, chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America.

During arguments made last May before the judge, Russell Frackman, attorney for the studios, said 321's software bypasses CSS -- the encrypted locks on his client's copyright movies. That is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, he argued. Under the controversial law, any mechanism that breaks a digital lock that protects copyright content is illegal. The judge agreed.

"It is evident to this Court, as it has been to previous courts, that CSS is a technological measure that both effectively controls access to DVDs and effectively protects the right of a copyright holder," Illston wrote.

Daralyn Durie, attorney for 321 Studios, had countered that customers had the right to access the encrypted content in any way they choose, if they had already purchased the DVD.

"This decision confirms what we've feared all along, which is that the DMCA is being used to take away your fair use rights in the digital world," said Jason Schultz, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which submitted a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of 321 Studios. "It really speaks to the need to go back to Congress and revisit the DMCA. I don't think anyone expected that this law would be used so severely to cut back on consumers' rights to use things they own or bought."

Have a comment on this article? Send it

More stories written by Katie Dean