You may or may not be aware RealNetworks was trying to keep a product in the market they had released called “RealDVD.” This product let users make permanent copies of DVDs under a couple restrictions that included for example the number of PC’s you could watch the copies on. Real also claimed they used additional proprietary DRM on the copies to prevent further physical copies from being made from the digital stored copy.
Greg Sandoval, a guy whose writing I have come to really like, has a good piece about the entire dustup here at news.com.
The main thrust of the ruling is:
“RealDVD makes a permanent copy of copyrighted DVD content,” Patel wrote in her decision, “and by doing so breaches its (Content Scramble System) License Agreement with the (DVD Copy Control Association, the group that oversees the protection of DVDs for the major Hollywood studios) and circumvents a technological measure that effectively controls access to or copying of the Studios’ copyrighted content on DVDs.”
Furthermore, the bigger prize at stake was Real’s Facet appliance which was basically a big DVD recorder and jukebox in one slick consumer appliance:
As a result of this ruling, both RealDVD, Facet and another 3rd party’s offering, Kaleidescape Systems are now all offline while Real and Kaleidescape appeal this ruling.
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