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The battle between RealNetworks and Hollywood is over with the software developer scrapping their DVD Copying software. They have also agreed to pay the Hollywood Movie Association $4.5 Million dollars in costs.
The battle between RealNetworks and Hollywood is over with the software developer scrapping their DVD Copying software. They have also agreed to pay the Hollywood Movie Association $4.5 Million dollars in costs.
Real Networks dropped plans to market its DVD-copying software as part of a settlement with Hollywood studios, which alleged in a lawsuit that the software violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and a licensing agreement.
At the time of the settlement Real Networks was appealing a preliminary injunction that barred the marketing of the software while a trial on the lawsuit’s merits was underway.
The US $29.99 RealDVD software copied encrypted movie DVDs to a PC’s hard drive or to an external hard drive for storage and playback, locking the content to the drive to prevent further copying or sharing over file-sharing networks. Up to four additional PCs could be registered with Real at a cost of $19.99 each to play copies saved to an external USB hard drive.
The settlement also applies to a planned set-top DVD jukebox, which would store movie DVDs on an internal hard drive.
In issuing the preliminary injunction last August, a district court judge in San Francisco contended a full trial would likely find the software in violation of the DMCA and the terms of Real’s Content Scramble System (CSS) license, issued by the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA). The judge also contended that Hollywood would suffer “irreparable harm” if the products went on the market while a full trial was underway because Real’s technologies do not limit multiple consumers from copying the same disc, nor do the technologies prevent consumers from copying rented discs.
