May 5, 2009
Hollywood battling 'DVD copying'
Hollywood has locked horns with the technology industry over who will control digital entertainment and how it is watched. The BBC reports.
The six big film studios say a program called RealDVD violates copyright.
This week a San Francisco court could decide if DVD users can make personal backups the way people do with audio.
"The consumer should have the same fair use rights to copy DVDs just as they have for the last decade with music," said Bill Hankes of RealDVD.
RealDVD, which is made by RealNetworks, allows DVD owners to make digital copies of their discs onto a computer or laptop hard drive for their own personal use without having to pay extra.
... At the heart of the case the movie studios, represented by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), claim that RealDVD is illegal under the DMCA.
The Association said the software bypasses the copy protection built into DVDs meaning that users could copy a DVD and share it around. The studios have described the product as "Steal DVD."
Read full article.
Image from The Tech Herald.
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