08/11, 11:05pm
RealDVD Injuction Stays
A US court on Tuesday maintained (reg. required) a preliminary injunction that prevents RealNetworks from selling its RealDVD software pending the results of a lawsuit against the company. The decision is characterized by Judge Marilyn Patel as a safeguard given the legal ramifications of the technology. While she agrees individual DVD copying is legal given fair use principles, she warns that software designed to streamline copying and sharing DVDs is often illegal under federal law and that allowing sales may run afoul of that law.
more
05/14, 10:00am
Real Sues MPAA
RealNetworks today fought back against Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) claims that it was aiding piracy by filing counterclaims against both six studios in the MPAA and the DVD Copy Control Association. Sent through a Northern District of California court, the complaints accuse both groups of violating antitrust law by colluding together on trying to block legal alternatives to fair use copying of DVDs. Rather than grant copyrights through individual studios, permission is offered solely through a joint agreement between all of the studios and the DVD CCA, effectively letting them exclude anyone they decide offers competition to their own methods.
more
04/28, 4:40pm
RealDVD vs MPAA trial
In the ongoing legal battle between the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and RealNetworks over the latter's RealDVD computer program that lets users violate copyright laws, the MPAA argued removing the software's restrictions on how many computers can access the ripped files is easily done. Robert Shumann, an expert on securing DVDs, took the stand on Tuesday at the request of the MPAA and said changing RealDVD to allow for more than the current five computers to playback the copied content is simple.
more
01/20, 4:15pm
Dutch study file sharing
A study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs has just concluded that the net economic effects of file sharing for music, movies and games are positive. The resulting 142-page report, put together by research company TNO, doesn't narrow the results to strictly illegal content but argues that, as consumers save money on unnecessary purchases and spend it on more wanted content, they save much more in wasted spending than music production companies lose.
more
10/13, 4:50pm
Bush Signs PRO IP Act
US President George Bush on Monday signed the PRO-IP Act into law, increasing the federal government's attempts to crack down on copyright violations and other intellectual property infringement in the country. The Act will bring in a cabinet member dedicated to improving copyright protection and also increases punishments for both basic copyright violations as well as physical counterfeits.
more
10/09, 9:05am
RealDVD ban extended
A temporary ban issued at the start of this week on RealNetwork’s sales of its RealDVD software, which allows users to copy DVD movies, has been extended until a hearing is held to decide whether or not to make the ban more permanent. The stop in sales was ordered by a US federal judge after Hollywood studios, represented by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), sued RealNetworks over copyright issues. The extension came just one day after the original temporary ban, on Tuesday, according to a Thursday report.
more
07/22, 4:25pm
Groups fight MPAA FCC bid
A request to the FCC by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to waive previously set rules and thus allow it to send video content to select TVs and entertainment devices is being contested by seven public interest and consumer groups. Led by consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, the request was made on Monday, after the MPAA's May 9th request to be exempt from the rules which were set in 2003. Such exemption would allow studios to deny access to material, or postpone it, to owners of specific brands of TVs, for example, argue the public interest groups.
more
05/08, 1:30pm
Film studios v. Pirate Bay
Movie studios are the latest group to launch a legal assault on Swedish BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay, filings indicate. The Motion Picture Association, an international extension of the MPAA, has filed a 93kr million ($15.4 million) lawsuit against Pirate Bay, which it accuses of hosting illegal torrent trackers for movies such as The Pink Panther and Syriana, as well as 13 episodes of the TV show Prison Break. Damages are said to amount to between 222 and 261kr ($37 and $43) per movie, and 415kr ($68) for each Prison Break episode.
more
01/23, 12:35pm
MPAA: We were wrong
A 2005 study grossly distorted the role of colleges in movie piracy, the Motion Picture Association of America now admits. Commissioned by the trade group, the study blamed a massive 44 percent of all domestic piracy on college students, who frequently have access not only to broadband Internet connections but high-speed local networks. The MPAA is currently telling educational groups that the figure was a result of "human error," and is in fact closer to just 15 percent, the Associated Press writes.
more
12/19, 4:10pm
TorrentSpy case terminated
A US District Judge has terminated a case against TorrentSpy.com in view of evidence tampering, reports say. Representatives from the MPAA sued TorrentSpy in 2006, claiming that the BitTorrent tracker provided illegal access to copyrighted video. Although TorrentSpy countersued, arguing that the MPAA hacked into its computers and e-mail accounts, the company was later ordered to record its data traffic, which could have been used as evidence. Lawyers protested, calling the request "unprecedented and damaging to online free speech and privacy and to free market values that support technological development."
more
