MPAA Countersues 321 Studios

Squash writes "321 Studios, makers of DVD X-Copy, is being Counter-sued by the MPAA. You may remember them filing suit to allow thier software to be produced and sold. Interesting point: the MPAA wants to claim all profits from sales of the software, which is now being bundled with some DVD burners."

Comments

HUH??

[giel]

Isn't the US the country where you can legally purchase a gun but where killing people is illigal? I mean that's actually somehow (not totally) the same. You have got a tool, you use a tool...
You confuse me...

i cant copy my own dvds?

[Anonymous Coward]

The Motion Picture Association of America is countersuing Missouri software firm 321 Studios, alleging that the company's DVD-copying software violates anti-copying laws.

so i cant copy dvds i have authored myself? especially since this is being bundled with burners

Re:i cant copy my own dvds?

[pVoid]

Let's not kid ourselves... we all know 99% of the people will use this to copy DVDs. I will.

If as a defense, we're naively turning the blind eye to this fact, then we will be like deer caught in headlights when they charge us with copy protection stuff...

Banning this software is just like stripping out the weeds in your lawn, and leaving the roots in the ground.

The battle really should be about first amendment rights, and basically it being unconstitutional to have a law like the Sony Bono act. Also there should be some sort of reaction to hollywood: decades of complacency have led to actors like Mel Gibson making 20 million off a single movie... That's just *not* right.

So long as we stay in this pasture of yellow grass, we aren't making any headway. It's no use acting coy and pretending that we're not doing something that isn't currently illegal... It is illegal. It's more important to tell the law makers that the law doesn't represent the best interest of the majority of the public.

Or something...

My point is we don't have an advantageous point here, and really, all we can do is fend off offensives by corporate giants, one after another.

Re:i cant copy my own dvds?

[Qrlx]

The getting past CSS part is questionable, but there are plenty of legitimate for something like that.

But do I have a right to make a backup copy of the DVD I just bought, with CSS intact? For when my two-year old tries to eat the original?

The MPAA's answer is "no." They know these things wear out, and lets face it it hurts their sales if I only have to buy it once.

Legally, I can photocopy every page of a book that I own. I might want to do that to put it into a binder and make notes in the margins for a class. The MPAA thinks you don't have the right to do that with their content.

They want to control what you do with the stuff after you've bought it. I can see why they would try to make that hard (witness - they have CSS in the first place) and something that the Average Joe isn't going to do.

The MPAA and RIAA are using the Bad Cop / Bad Cop routine on us, knowing that if enough of us knuckle under the rest of us will grudgingly give in to the concept that the fair use rights you have for digital portrayals of information are significantly restricted in ways that "analog" technologies tied to physical media are not.

Many people here on SlashDot take the stand that they support copyright laws and going after the "pirates". But I think that's anachronistic. Isn't one of technologies main functions to eliminiate scarcity? Whereas the paradigm of the guilds that run Hollywood is a selfish inclusiveness against ousiders.

My hope is that the huge media companies will be hurt by Napster and Tivo and that TV and the Big Six (or however many there are) media conglomerates will lose their stranglehold on culture.

If that happens, technology will have made the world a better place :)

Re:i cant copy my own dvds?

[Melantha_Bacchae]

MrLint wrote:

> I found this repugnant, the mpaa will spend tothe
> ends of the earth to destroy fair use, but (for
> whatever reason) what you do isnt important.

Oh, it isn't that it is not important to them, it's that you are not a member of the MPAA. Worse, you are in competition with MPAA members if you are producing content (as a non-member) and "wasting people's time with it when their time and money would be better spent on a MPAA member product".

Competition in distribution of their content (so called "piracy") and competition in content creation are their public enemies number one and two. Conveniently they can use copyright law to deal with competition in distribution of their content.

The other kind they have to deal with on the sly, because if they were ever too vocal about competing content creators, the government may see fit to bust their little anti-competitive cartel. That doesn't mean they (and their music industry counterparts) wouldn't love to rid the world of indie studios and musicians. At the moment, subtle little things like keeping CSS to themselves is all they can do.

Of course this is all evil, but what does one expect from a bunch of greedy sharks?

"They bind our hearts: 'Let's sell them again and again!'
Our plan understands the sea; we can wait for her coming."
From the song "Infanto no Musume" in the Japanese version of Mothra (1961).

Re:i cant copy my own dvds?

[PotatoHead]

You are dead on about people wanting change, but not being willing to actually do anything to make it happen.

You know, you can get LOTR used, or steep discount new on DVD and loan it to friends.

Make your own damn Latte.

Sort of stuck with the gas station, but there is always www.gasbuddy.com for the lowest price.

Don't pay HBO, get the Soparanos used or steep discount on DVD as well.

I do this often. For me, it happened when the family got active. We decided to cut our entertainment budget in favor of school sports, outdoor activities and other things.

The first year is hard because you can't get anything new. After that it is a lot easier.

So we are a little behind. You know what? It really does not matter as much as people would think. The hard part is that making choices is harder than just going with the flow --until you actually start making them.

Re:i cant copy my own dvds?

[meatpopcicle]

Considering they believe that copying a DVD after it has been decoded by CSS is a violation of the DMCA what would you expect?

They are surely approaching the evilness of the RIAA in these matters of copyright.

The Crackers will always do this and they will always be around fighting for what they believe in (whatever that is). The problem are these organizations want to punish society as a whole.

Unfortunatly the MPAA and RIAA are very powerful organizations that can sue most companies into bankruptcy. It doesn't matter that you are right, it just matters that you have more money. What ever happened to a fair trial?

An interesting idea is what will happen when society as a whole decides that this practice is morally acceptable (ie: copying software/digital media)? Will the laws change? Doesn't society dictate how the world works and what laws are created?

The only reason the corporations get what they want is they give donations (ie: bribes) to the political officials/judges during their election campaigns. Who fights for the rights of society...

lord, not again

[Alien54]

another Lawsuit for loss of potential profits instead of figuring out what is wrong with their production, marketing, distribution system.

parasites

Could This Be Good In A Way?

[aerojad]

If the MPAA is going after the company because it wants profits, and not because it wants to prevent the software from being available on a potential mass-market, could this mean the MPAA may be accepting the potential for movies to be burned to DVD-R? Maybe they'll let up if they can get a chunk of the profit? Probably not, but one can dream...

Re:Could This Be Good In A Way?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, I don't think this is good. They have no choice but to accept the fact that people have a right (under fair use) to make backups of things they own. It's well within their rights. For the MPAA to go after a company demanding royalties from something they did not support or contribute to, well, that's just fucked up.

Fuck you, MPAA. I hope Jack Crack's nuts rot off.

Curious

[cluge]

Fair use has a lot of reasons to be in existance. The least of which was media degradation.

In the bad old days, merely playing any recorded material degraded the quality of it. A record, tape or VHS tape would eventually wear out. Thus making "copies" from a master was a necessity if you wanted to listen/view it over a long period of time. With todays digital media that is no longer the case, or much less so. Look for the "MPAA" supporters to try and use this fact to ban ALL fair use. Think revisionist history here (an mpaa lawyers will be!), fair use was needed because of the failure of that times recording technology. It (fair use) has no other reason to be in existance they will argue. It's outmoded and needs to be gotten rid of they will say. Reverse engineering, fair use, personal use will all be attacked (and are being attacked).

I find it ironic that a record company that can't even pay it's own employees/sub contractor (the artists) correctly is worried about a piece of DVD copying software. I guess if your accounting is THAT BAD then any percieved potential loss must be made up for. Thus the industry that can't even keep track of it's own sales accurately swings into action with a cadre of lawyers. Eventually musicians will seel directly to the people, and they will cut out the middle man. Eventually people will listen to music because they want to, not because they are told to. I can't wait for that day.

Re:Curious

[Jace of Fuse!]

With todays digital media that is no longer the case

I used to think this until I had movies and games that failed to play because of a single minor scratch. A scratch that came from removing it from the case of all things.

Of course, they LIKE this. They LOVE it even. They rub their hands together at the mere thought of doctoring the laws so that we're criminals unless we pay them a week's wages everytime we even REMEMBER a line from a movie or a song.

The original DivX format. The new self-destructive disks. DRM. Thought pollution. They really will never stop until they've won, until we stop buying their crap, or until we raid their business offices and shoot every single fucking executive coming up with this shit.

What are the grounds for suing...??

[Mitreya]

is what completely escapes me. The software captures the stream after it has been decoded by a valid player. There is no encryption that is being broken...? It is almost like suing someone for using a video camera to record a rented movie on TV

Since when does DMCA make it illegal to make copies in general? I believe it only applies to breaking copyright protection...? I am hoping this will be tossed quickly or am I missing something?

Re:What are the grounds for suing...??

[stratjakt]

>> It is almost like suing someone for using a video camera to record a rented movie on TV it *is* illegal.

But do you sue the maker of the video camera?

Re:Are you kidding me?

[Mitreya]

Anyone with any skills at all can copy DVD disks without this software.

Ehm, you're missing the point. Anyone with slashdot (ting) skills can copy the software if they are willing to go through some hassle. But slashdot readers are a tech-minority everywhere but here on slashdot. All these things are relevant because this software allows the "average user" to legally (for $50) make a DVD copy. Hopefully 321 Stidos will win.

why piracy must be eliminated

[Anonymous Coward]

Piracy is Communism. Private property is Capitalism. You don't want to live in a Communist state, do you?

You know what happens in communist countries? The government controls everything you do. If you try and start your own business and invent new products, the government knocks down your door and takes your computers. If you make any profits, you have to hand them over to a third party, and they label you an enemy of the state.

In communist countries, powerful entities take money from the working class and use it to line their pockets and buy influence. The government is so interwoven with corruption, almost every law passed exists simply to keep to the bureaucratic machinery running, rather than encouraging efficient innovation (which can be dangerously disruptive).

You wouldn't want to live in country like that, would you??

I want my cut of the proffits!

[hillct]

I proviide my content on DVD. I searched the MPAA website and I don't see where I need to apply to get my cut of the proffiits collected for every sale of DVD-copying software that MIGHT be used to copy my DVD content.

If the MPAA is allowed to collect these funds, then under this theory, anyone who ever records original content on a DVD for distribution, should be allowed membership to the MPAA. If enough of us join the MPAA, we could elect board members more in tune with reality. This would be far more difficult within the RIAA, since -while anyone can join the organization- only those who recieve payments (based on radio airplay of their music) can actually vote to elect board members. They have a vary incestuous system as compared to the MPAA, but with regard to the MPAA, everyone should produce a short film, perhaps a flash animation, and distribute it on DVD, selling it on their own website or whatever, then join the MPAA. If we generate enough new membership, we should be able to install board members as we se fit. :)

--CTH

Re:They are profiting off of others free programs!

[pc486]

What's wrong with trying to make a profit from free programs? It's like screaming bloody murder over the fact that RedHat profits from selling free software. If the licenses of Smart Ripper, DVDx and others say that selling them is not allowed then so be it. Otherwise go ahead as packing software with an easy to use GUI is a service, and a valuable service as many DVD drive companies think it is worth paying money for.

Re:They are profiting off of others free programs!

[amorangi]

I've found the free DVD Decrypter [www.dvddecrypter.com]to be very good at stripping out all the illegal Regional Coding and all the other bumpf when making copies. This has been most useful in making copies to play on my unhacked stand-alone DVD player.
If the MPAA think they can prevent me viewing a DVD I legally bought they are seriously mistaken, and frankly they can sit and rotate.

Re:On DVD Renting

[Lumpy]

I have read through slashdot that when you buy a DVD, you arent really buying the Digital Media, but license to view that Digital Media.

if that is true... why do all the AD's on tv say "Own it Today"?

Sounds like false advertising to me... Who want's to sue?