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RealNetworks, Film Industry Headed To Court

Posted by timothy on from the in-your-face-film-industry dept.

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."

9 of 173 comments (clear)

  1. Real...buffering..Networks by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

    vs the MPAA.

    Nope, I give up. I can't decide which I want to lose.

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    1. Re:Real...buffering..Networks by the_humeister · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You want Real Networks to win. If they win, everyone (but the MPAA) wins. If the MPAA wins, everyone else loses.

    2. Re:Real...buffering..Networks by R2.0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There's a quote from Henry Kissinger regarding the Iran-Iraq War that is apropos: "The only problem with this war is that only one side can lose."

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
  2. Great! by TheSpoom · · Score: 5, Informative

    *continues to use DVD Shrink for free anyway since it has no DRM*

    --
    It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
    - E. Debs
    1. Re:Great! by X0563511 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      *continues to use mencoder since it is maintained and community developed*

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    2. Re:Great! by thrillseeker · · Score: 5, Funny

      one day I hope to finish reading the manpage for it

  3. wait just a minute here by lysergic.acid · · Score: 5, Insightful

    does RealNetworks' DVD copying software _charge users $20_ for burning DVDs playable on multiple computers (still limited to a maximum of 5)?

    how can they purport to be a champion of consumer rights/fair use when they're charging users to burn copies of their own DVDs and restricting users from playing these copies from more than 5 computers?

    and who exactly are users paying the $20 to for being able to play their copies on more than one computer if not the MPAA or film makers? they actually have the galls to charge users for an additional license fee on works that they don't hold the rights to, and then they're turning around and saying that they're defending fair use rights? what a load of BS.

    consumers should be allowed to make backups of their purchases without DRM and usage restrictions. they shouldn't have to pay for the right to make DVD copies that are playable on multiple computers, much less pay RealNetworks for that right.

  4. Re:Whuh? by Skye16 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've heard of it before. It has to do when someone is threatening you with a lawsuit, but not following through. Rather than let that threat of a lawsuit affect your stock price, allowing the fear of it to affect your strategery, etc, it's best to just demand the court's rule and get it over with.

    Essentially, it's calling in a game of poker. Only rather than letting the cards do the talking, you're letting the judge settle it.

  5. Speaking as a once paying customer of Real by thermian · · Score: 5, Informative

    I bought RealJukebox and really liked it. The license said I had access to upgrades for the lifetime of the product. This purchase included the full version of RealPlayer too, with no adverts.

    Then they changed the license terms within months (at the time they introduced OnePlayer) and said I had to repurchase at full price if I wanted to upgrade to OnePlayer. Oh, and they discontinued RealJukebox, and I wasn't allowed to update my copy of standalone realplayer either without paying the full licence fee again.

    I wouldn't have minded a small upgrade fee I guess, although I would have grumbled, but I paid a fair bit for my original licence, and I was pissed off that it got junked so fast.

    The chances of my paying for or using a RealNetworks product again are pretty much nonexistant.

    --
    A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams