Petteri Pyyny
13 Feb 2004 16:02
DVD Copy Control Association has sued 321 Studios, the company behind DVD X Copy products that allow backing up DVD movies, over alleged patent infringements.
The lawsuit is fourth one that has been filed against 321 Studios in the United States -- company has been sued in New York and in California by group of movie studios and just recently, by Macrovision.
DVD CCA is the organization that owns the patents for copy protection mechanism called CSS, which is used on virtually all commercial DVD-Video discs.
"In taking this legal action, DVD CCA is turning its focus toward those who produce and broadly distribute products in the marketplace that facilitate the widespread infringement of the copyrights on motion pictures that CSS was designed to protect," DVD CCA's attorney Steven Reiss said in a statement. "DVD CCA believes that halting the mass marketing of these illegal products is the most important and effective step toward protecting its property from theft and misuse in a changing marketplace."
321 Studios recently expanded their product line to include game backup software, Games X Copy. Company hasn't responded to the latest lawsuit yet, but issued a separate press release today, responding to Macrovision's lawsuit and claiming it to be completely baseless.
DVD CCA has also a long history of litigation with CSS code -- and it has managed to either lose or drop most of its lawsuits over the years.
More information:
News.com
321 Studios' response to Macrovision's lawsuit