Studios win victory against Real DVD, Facet (VB, BW, LAT)

By Nancy Tartaglione

Hollywood won a victory on Tuesday as a US District Court Judge issued a preliminary injunction against the sale of RealNetworks' RealDVD, a program that allows consumers to transfer copy-protected DVDs to hard drives. The judge also blocked Facet (aka Vegas), a set-top device in development that could also copy DVDs.

When it came to market in September last year, the studios and the DVD-Content Control Assn. immediately filed suit, claiming that RealDVD violated the "anti-circumvention" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

At the time, a temporary restraining order against the sale of the product was established.

For the week it was available, Real sold an estimated 3,000 copies for $30 each, Video Business reports. The software promised to legally allow users to burn up to five back-up copies to a computer hard drive of any commercial DVD.

Real claimed that because it had obtained a license from the DVD-Content Control Association, RealDVD was legal under the Digital Millennium act. Judge Marilyn Patel rejected that claim and accepted virtually all of the studios' arguments.

Real could attempt to appeal the decision or the case could go to trial on the studios' request for a permanent injunction and Real's counterclaim that the studios and DVD-CCA acted in violation of antitrust laws, Business Week notes.

In her ruling, Patel wrote, "Had Real's products been manufactured differently, i.e., if what happened in Vegas really did stay in Vegas, this might have been a different case. But, it is what it is. Once the distributive nature of the copying process takes hold, like the spread of gossip after a weekend in Vegas, what's done cannot be undone."

In response to the ruling, the Motion Picture Assn. of America said: "We are very pleased with the court's decision. This is a victory for the creators and producers of motion pictures and television shows and for the rule of law in our digital economy. Judge Patel's ruling affirms what we have known all along: RealNetworks took a license to build a DVD-player and instead made an illegal DVD-copier. Throughout the development of RealDVD, RealNetworks demonstrated that it was willing to break the law at the expense of those who create entertainment content."

Real Networks said: "We are disappointed that a preliminary injunction has been placed on the sale of RealDVD," RealNetworks said in a statement. "We have just received the judge's detailed ruling and are reviewing it. After we have done so fully, we'll determine our course of aciton."

The DVD-CCA also issued a statement Tuesday. "The association, which represents the interests of the personal computer, consumer electronics and content industries as well as DVD consumers, is committed to enabling high quality entertainment to be available for use at home and elsewhere. The ability to make that entertainment available depends upon a set of guidelines upon which all participants in these industries can rely."