Studios Ask Judge To Bar DVD-Copying Software
from the fair-use-rights-be-damned dept
This certainly took longer than expected. Back in October, 321 Studios preemptively sued the major Hollywood studios asking that their DVD-copying software be declared legal. Last month, while that case was still pending, the software was released. Now, finally, Hollywood has done its usual thing and is countersuing. They’re asking the judge to ban the sale of their software, saying that the software itself is illegal. Nevermind the fact that copying a video for personal use is completely legal fair-use rights. Just breaking the encryption on DVDs is illegal under the DMCA. This should be another fun case to follow. The more I read about this, the stronger I think 321’s case is (though, I still think they’ll end up losing, thanks to clueless judges and Hollywood studios with plenty of money to spend on lawyers). The software doesn’t allow people to make copies of copies, suggesting that the intent of the software has nothing to do with “piracy”. Any way we can get that ElcomSoft jury to come take a look at this one?
