A DVD ripping war is set to escalate with Hollywood studio’s set to go head to head with technology Companies like RealNetworks and Kaleidescape in an effort to stop the copying of DVD’s to storage devices.
A DVD ripping war is set to escalate with Hollywood studio’s set to go head to head with technology Companies like RealNetworks and Kaleidescape in an effort to stop the copying of DVD’s to storage devices.
Also being sucked into the fight are Companies like Control 4, AMX, Escient and Crestron all consumer electronics companies that have recently released DVD storage or ripping technology.
Last night RealNetworks who recently released RealDVD, which is a suite of DVD copying software decided to take the fight right up to the DVD Copy Control Association who have been sniping from the sidelines by claiming that the Real Networks software is illegal.
Instead of waiting for legal action against RealNetworks the Company has slipped in their own action against Hollywood producers. In a statement sent to SmartHouse and ChannelNews the Company say “In response to threats made by the major movie studios, RealNetworks plans to file an action for a declaratory judgment against the DVD Copy Control Association, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Films, NBC Universal, Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Viacom. The lawsuit asks the court to rule that RealNetworks Home Entertainment, Inc.’s RealDVD software, made available to consumers today at www.realdvd.com, fully complies with the DVD Copy Control Association’s license agreement.
They went on to claim that “RealDVD allows consumers to securely store, manage and play their DVDs on their computers. It does not enable users to distribute copies of their DVDs. RealDVD not only maintains the DVD’s native CSS encryption intact, it also adds another layer of digital rights management encryption that effectively locks the DVD copy to the owner’s computer to ensure that the content cannot be improperly copied or shared. RealDVD provides consumers with a great solution for the playback and management of their DVD collections while adding security that is more robust than CSS.
Last year a California Superior Court judge ruled that Kaleidescape who manufacture high end storage servers complete with ripping software did not breach its contract with the DVD Copy Control Association when it manufactured and sold a high-tech system that let consumers copy the DVDs they owned onto a home video jukebox.
This decision really got up the noses of the DVD Copy Control Association who since the ruling have been sniping from the sidelines over the Courts decision. They have also appealed the case.
In response RealNetworks said “We took this legal action to protect consumers’ ability to exercise their fair-use rights for their purchased DVDs. The DVD CCA, which represents numerous parties including all of the major studios, previously sued another company over the same issues. The trial court ruled against the DVD CCA and allowed the distribution of a product similar to RealDVD. Having lost the case once, the major studios are now trying to get a different result by going to a different court.
