Legal Issues

Legal Issues

by Mike Masnick


Filed Under:
dvd ripping, injunctions, realdvd

Companies:
mpaa, realnetworks




Judge Temporarily Blocks Sale Of RealDVD

from the who-does-this-help? dept

In the lawsuit between the movie studios and RealNetworks over Real's DVD ripping software, RealDVD, it appears that a judge has issued a temporary injunction against Real, keeping the company from distributing the software until the judge has had a chance to read through the various documents. A more complete decision allowing or disallowing the sale prior to a trial should come on Tuesday. Of course, the movie studios will claim that Real should be barred from allowing the software to be sold because it will cause "irreparable harm." That, of course, is ridiculous. Real's software only lets you make limited backups, by putting its own DRM on the copies. If someone really wants to make backups, and Real's software isn't available thanks to an injunction, then they'll most likely get a copy of other DVD ripping software that doesn't even include the limitations that Real's does. In other words, in taking RealDVD off the market, as the studios would like, it actually would probably lead to more movies being copied without DRM than if RealDVD were on the market. On a separate note, it appears that Real's decision to rush to court and file for a declaratory judgment on this case was a wise move. The lawsuit has been moved from Southern California, where the studios filed suit later in the day, to Northern California, where Real filed suit in the morning.

13 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 

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  1. by Idiot - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 2:10am

    "The lawsuit has been moved from Southern California, where the studios filed suit later in the day, to Northern California, where Real filed suit in the morning."

    RealSmart of them. Take in out of Hollywood's backyard and put it in Silicon Valley's backyard. :)

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  2. Re:

    by Anonymous Coward - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 2:29am

    Agreed.

    That doesn't make sense. SFO/SJC/OAK areas seem more focused on implementation, whereas LAX/SNA areas are more focused on production. Then SEA jumps into the mix, who is really the odd man out. Hmm...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  3. lol

    by Jeff - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 3:58am

    http://sourceforge.net/search/?type_of_search=soft&words=dvd+rip

    have fun

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  4. Nice

    by Grem135 - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 4:43am

    very nice Jeff, who needs realdvd anyway...lol

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  5. by nullop - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 5:31am

    Well said Jeff. I've gotten by very well without any Real warez yet...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  6. by Ima Fish - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 5:31am

    Wow, who has really used Real software in the last ten years? Sure, there was a time back in the 90s when you basically needed it to access video and music online, those days are way gone.

    Gee, I wonder what other utterly behind the times products Real could come up with?

    10. Real Memory Optimizer.

    9. Real-Time Hard Drive Compression.

    8. Real HD-DVD Ripper

    7. Real Explorer, a GUI file management system.

    6. Real Name-it, enable long file names in 16 bit operating systems!

    5. Real Blu-ray Ripper (Coming in 2018!)

    4. Real Browser, a shell for IE 4.0, allowing for tabbed browsing!

    3. Real Fragged, a fully 32 bit disc defragger for Fat32 drives up to 1 gigabyte.

    2. Real Audio, for Warp OS/2

    1. RealDOS, a fully 32 bit DOS replacement.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  7. by Overcast - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 6:28am

    Too bad - it was the only software out there that could copy DVD's!!!!

    lol

    Regardless, again - the MPAA trying to even keep me from making copies of my own DVD's is BS. If they want to stop people from making backup copies, they should offer free replacement DVD's if mine gets scratched.

    Until that point, keeping people from making copies of their own movies is complete BS.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  8. Who told that lie?

    by John Stottlemire - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 7:08am

    Reliance on what others report is not always the best thing to do.

    The case is currently before Magistrate Judge Howard Lloyd and the TRO was filed with the Court on Friday (October 3, 2008). A ruling on the TRO has not been handed down by the court. Although RealDVD may no longer be available, a Judge DID NOT temporarily block the sale of RealDVD.

    The entire Docket of this case is available on Justia http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-candce/case_no-5:2008cv04548/case_id-207595/

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  9. Re: Re:

    by Baloney Joe - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 9:04am

    wow aren't you cool with all your airport designations...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  10. svetainiu kurimas

    by Svetainiu kurimas - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 10:31am

    Ima fish , you ar right

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  11. by Anonymous Coward - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 10:51am

    Thats ok. There are plenty of free DVD copy software out there anyway.

    The MPAA can kiss my ass

    Not 1 cent!

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  12. Re: Who told that lie?

    by icon Mike (profile) - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 5:16pm


    The case is currently before Magistrate Judge Howard Lloyd and the TRO was filed with the Court on Friday (October 3, 2008). A ruling on the TRO has not been handed down by the court. Although RealDVD may no longer be available, a Judge DID NOT temporarily block the sale of RealDVD.


    Actually, reports are coming out saying that a TRO absolutely was granted, but under seal:

    http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/judges-top-secr.html

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  13. Re: Re: Who told that lie?

    by John Stottlemire - Oct 6th, 2008 @ 6:03pm

    Yes, I've read the reports as well. Guess I'm mistaken. My apologies.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

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