RealNetworks Faces Another Setback in DVD Burning Fight
RealNetworks Faces Another Setback in DVD Burning Fight
Posted 08/12/2009 at 9:00am
| by Paul Lilly
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RealNetworks continue to fight the good fight for consumers who wish to make legally backed up copies of their DVD collection, but the Seattle-based company has a tough road ahead of it.
The first bump in that road comes from U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel who on Tuesday ruled in favor of the movie studios and granted their request for a preliminary injunction preventing RealNetworks from selling its RealDVD software. The injunction also bars the licensing of RealDVD to set-top box makers.
"We are very pleased with the court's decision," Dan Glickman, chief executive of the MPAA, said in a statement. "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."
Not unexpected, the setback doesn't mean the fight is over. RealNetworks has a suit pending against the movie studios accusing them of antitrust practices.
Image Credit: newsday.com
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jcollins
August 12, 2009 at 11:30am
I wonder if we're going to find that the judge is a boardmember of some intellectual property agency...
w2ed
August 12, 2009 at 11:11am
After reading this tidbit of news on a competing web site (actually a competitor to Maximum PC's sister magazine Mac|Life), I'm even more disturbed by Judge Patel's ruling, particularly the quotes that appeared on said site. (Surprised? Not really, considering this is the same _____ who shoved one of the final knives in the entity known as Napster...) I'm not going to link you to the site (Don't want the comment removed because it's association with competitors, but doing a Google search will produce the same result), I will sum up what was said: Although we as consumers do have the right to back up and copy our purchases for the purposes of protecting our investments, No one is allowed to make the tools necessary to back that stuff up.
Thank you, congressmen, for creating the laws that we now know as the Digital Millenium Copyright Act: The basic F-- You laws that allows the RIAA to waste taxpayers money and time dragging them to court for what they should legally be entitled to do and the MPAA to make it difficult for consumers to have the tools to back up their purchases.
Isn't it about time to start boycotting these companie? Isn't it about time to demand that the DMCA is illegal and violates the Fair Play arguments won years ago? Isn't it time that we, as consumers, as artists, musicians, writers, tell these publishing companies that suck the profits and money away from the people creating it, to basically go ____ themselves?
Oh, wait, I should be nice - might get sued.
da_samman
August 12, 2009 at 9:50am
I agree. SCREW THE DMCA!! We want, nay, DEMAND our Fair Use rights.
Sincerely yours, from Fort Lewis, WA
SGT Samuel E. McClard II
Life's a journey, enjoy the ride!!
nekollx
August 12, 2009 at 9:13am
you go real, it's our DVDs not their, and Fair Use is on our side!
------------------------------
Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
quantumnerd
August 13, 2009 at 1:28pm
If I want pop culture, I go see a movie (no DRM), listen to the radio (no DRM), or browse youtube (no DRM) to get all the pop culture I need. I don`t want to buy it from them if there`s grenades attached to strings attached to lawyers attached.
For stuff that I buy, I buy software without excessive DRM, WINDOWS without excessive DRM, and download free-n-legal stuff like linux, and newgrounds music.
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