Slashdot Mirror
Real's Injunction Against Streambox Lifted
Zippy the Pinhead writes with some welcome news: "Remember the RealNetworks vs. Streambox case a few weeks ago? Well, the judge has decided to lift the injunction against Streambox. They can now resume developing and selling their nifty RealAudio tools."
According to a message on the "Toolkit" page of the site.
:-)
Expect the server to be Slashdotted into oblivion at about 11:00.01...
... and then watch out for all the messages from posters asking where the Linux versions are
A little planning goes a long way...
I think I see what's going on here. It looks like the judge issued an injunction against VCR and Ferret, but not against Ripper. Hence, Real decides to claim victory on the best-two-of-three principle, while Streambox claims victory because they can still sell Ripper. Notice that they only talked about "continuing development" on VCR and Ferret, not about releasing them.
-shrug- It's a start, since this yanks away some of Real's content control.
Alik
RealNetworks Wins Preliminary Injunction in Landmark Case Protecting Copyright Holders in the Digital Age
Court Bars Streambox From Distributing or Marketing Streambox VCR And Streambox Ferret
SEATTLE, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- RealNetworks Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK - news), the recognized leader in media delivery on the Internet, said today it is pleased that the Honorable Marsha Pechman of the Western Circuit Court in Washington has granted RealNetworks' motion for a preliminary injunction barring Streambox from distributing products that illegally circumvent the copyright protection in RealAudio and RealVideo. Specifically, Streambox is enjoined from marketing and distributing the Streambox VCR, which records live streams against the wishes of copyright holders, and the Streambox Ferret, which interferes with the appearance and functionality of the RealPlayer®.
``We are very pleased that the court has upheld the basic principle that it is illegal to circumvent copy protection mechanisms in order to record streams against the wishes of copyright holders,'' said Alex Alben, vice president of Government Affairs, RealNetworks, Inc. ``RealNetworks brought this suit to protect the copyright of the content holders who trust RealNetworks' software and systems to not only provide a high quality user experience, but also to provide it in a format that is protected from duplication. We look forward to the opportunity to argue the remaining issues in court and feel confident that we will prevail on all counts at the end of the day.''
``I'm pleased by the Judge's ruling,'' said Cary Sherman, senior executive vice president and general counsel, Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. ``The RIAA fully supports RealNetworks' position in this case for the sake of our members and a legitimate marketplace. RealNetworks' technology is a success in large measure because it protects creators at the same time it givers consumers access to the music they want. Streambox's hacking tools rob creators of the very protection RealNetworks offers. That is precisely what the DMCA was intended to prevent.'' The RIAA members own 90% of legitimate sound recordings produced in the United States.
``Liquid Audio strongly supports RealNetworks' legal efforts to protect the millions of copyright holders around the world by keeping Internet music secure,'' said Gerry Kearby, chief executive officer of Liquid Audio, Inc. (Nasdaq: LQID - news). ``As pioneers in secure Internet music delivery, we firmly believe in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as a key legal protection that will help ensure the development of a digital music economy.''
``The decision handed down today illustrates the importance of companies being able to adequately protect their intellectual property through technological means,'' said Keith Kupferschmid, Intellectual Property Counsel for the Software & Information Industry Association. ``Congress clearly respects the technological efforts being made by companies to protect their goods and services online and intended to protect these efforts when it passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Today's decision demonstrates that the courts' also understand importance of the circumvention protections provided in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.''
The order today addresses two products marketed by Streambox: Streambox VCR, which circumvents RealNetworks' copyright protection measures to save streams to disk; and the Streambox Ferret, which interferes with the appearance and functionality of the RealPlayer® and redirects end-users of the RealPlayer search bar to Streambox's search site instead of the Snap!.com search site. A third product, the Streambox Ripper, which affects only files that have already been stored locally on a user's computer, was not included in the preliminary injunction. All three products were initially enjoined by a temporary restraining order entered on December 23, 1999.
For more information: http://www.realnetworks.com/company/pressroom/stre ambox_litigation.html.
Here's the press release in question:
For Immediate Release
January 18, 2000
Landmark Decision
Favors Streambox
Judge's decision rules in favor of Streambox to continue sale and distribution of its most popular product, Streambox Ripper.
Decision allows consumers and content owners choice
in streaming media formats.
SEATTLE - Based on the ruling by U.S. District Court in Seattle today, Streambox, Inc. (http://www.streambox.com), a start-up with leading streaming technologies for audio and video files on the Internet, may now continue selling its most popular software product, Streambox Ripper. This decision, made by the Honorable Marsha Pechman, affirmed the right of consumers and content owners to convert RealNetworks streaming media into their format of preference. Ripper enables consumers and content providers to convert RealNetworks files into Windows Media, MP3 and WAV formats.
Today's ruling repeals a restraining order filed by RealNetworks (RNWK), which alleged that Ripper caused irreparable harm to RealNetworks.
"This is a big win, not just for Streambox, but for the entire Internet community," said Robert Hildeman, chief executive officer of Streambox. "Streambox feels that the Court made the right decision to allow consumers to be able to make their own choice on how streaming content is controlled by granting Streambox permission to sell and distribute Streambox Ripper. The Internet has always been about open systems, and we're proud to be a part of this landmark ruling."
Streambox will continue sales of Streambox Ripper on its website in addition to continuing development of enjoined products (Streambox VCR and Ferret plug-in) that put the control of streaming content in the hands of copyright owners as well as consumers.
"We will formally request RealNetworks to release the specifications on their copy switch, so we can include it into Streambox VCR," said Robert Hildeman. "Streambox strongly supports copyrighted content. We trust RealNetworks will come through and release this information so that all content owners can choose whether to turn the switch on or off. Previously, Real has chosen to keep this information proprietary."