DVD copying utility leads to trial

13th October 2008

Recently, the company RealNetworks Home Entertainment has released their new product RealDVD, which allows users to make copies of DVD disks and save them on the HDD. This tool avoids irreparable loss in case of mechanical damage to the original media as extends lifetime of the laptopâ€™s battery.
Users can save the contents of the optical disc directly in the process of its viewing. Information about the genre, rating, actors, as well as the image of the cover is imported automatically and the function of parental controls allows preventing children from viewing unwanted discs. Saving one DVD take, on average, 10 to 40 minutes, each copy taking from 4 to 8 gigabytes of the disk space. The developers pointed out the fact that copies created with the help of RealDVD are legal. When you saving a copy-protected DVD, the application re-encrypts its content. In addition, RealDVD allows making no more than five copies of a disc.
Despite these features, the company was unable to avoid scandal. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) demanded to prohibit selling the product and filed an action against RealNetworks Home Entertainment.
Movie giants argue that RealDVD violates Digital Millennium Copyright Act, because it has mechanisms to bypass the built-in protection system. RealNetworks rejects the charges and insists on the absolute legality of their product.