RealNetworks, Film Industry Headed To Court

netbuzz writes "Apparently tired of waiting to be sued by the movie studios over its new DVD-to-PC copying software, RealNetworks this morning announced it will file a preemptive lawsuit in an attempt to authoritatively establish that the product does not infringe on copyright restrictions. Within an hour or so, the Motion Picture Association of America said it would have a litigation announcement of its own this afternoon."

Comments

Copyright (Re:wait just a minute here)

[HikingStick]

They copyright owner has certain rights to control the content, regardless of whether or not you've ripped it to disk or another medium. IMO, once you make the initial purchase ( a la the first sale doctrine), the rights of the copyright owner should diminish, but there should still be some prohibitions in place (e.g., making reproductions for profit, duplication and distribution with the intent of denying the copyright holder income). I write songs. If someone buys a disc or CD with my music, I don't care if they make copies or put it on every media player in the house--I made my dime. If they want to start duplicating CDs and giving them to some of their closest friends, I'm okay with that. If they want to burn dozens or hundreds of my CDs and distribute them broadly, or sell them at a local flea market or garage sale, then they are out of line. If another artisit wants to record one of my songs, they should pony up the dollars. If some kid wants to play my song at a talent contest, let him.