321 Studios is already subject to an injunction following an
action by the film industry.
Most DVDs contain anti-copying software, known as CSS, or
Content Scrambling System, which uses encryption to prevent them
from being copied, except by players containing the correct keys.
321 Studios developed software, incorporated in products called DVD
Copy Plus and DVD-X COPY that "ripped" the CSS, allowing the
copying of the DVD.
Unsurprisingly, 321 has been the subject of numerous lawsuits,
culminating in February this year when the Motion Picture
Association of America (MPAA) succeeded in its action against the
company.
That action was based on the controversial 1998 Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits people from using
or distributing devices that can bypass copyrights and copy
prevention measures. The UK has similar provisions, which came into
force late last year.
In court, 321 argued that the software merely allowed people to
make fair use of their DVDs, making backup copies in case the
original was destroyed or damaged. The MPAA countered with the
argument that the software allowed people to use unauthorised
versions of the encryption keys – and the court agreed.
The more recent action, brought by Macrovision, not only
asserted that 321 had breached the DMCA, but also accused the
company of patent infringement in respect of its content protection
technologies.
"The vast majority of Hollywood DVDs are protected by software
flags that trigger the patented anti-copy methods within DVD
players," explained Macrovision's lawyer Robert Becker.
He continued: "When those flags are copied by DVD X Copy, the
patented methods are triggered and performed without license from
Macrovision. A patent infringement results. When the software flags
are removed, the anti-copy mechanism is circumvented, resulting in
a violation of the DMCA."
Macrovision has now been granted a preliminary injunction
barring 321 from selling the various versions of its DVD copying
software. Judge Richard Owen of the Federal Court for the Southern
District of New York issued the preliminary injunction after
determining the software had violated federal law, according to
Macrovision.
Associated Press reports that 321 has vowed to appeal. It also
faces actions in the US brought by the DVD Copy Control
Association, and Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures. It
is also being sued in the UK by Warner Home Video and the Motion
Picture Association.
