DVD Copy Software Maker Ceases Operations

321 Studios, the developer of a DVD copying program that has faced numerous legal challenges, has announced that the company has ceased business operations.

In a posting on its Website, 321 Studios announced that it has “ceased business operations including, but not limited to, the sale, support and promotion of our products.”

“Despite 321 Studios’ best efforts to remain in business, injunctions entered against 321 Studios by three US Federal courts earlier this year has resulted in 321 Studios no longer being able to continue operating the busines” the statement reads.

The St. Louis-area-based 321 Studios said in June that it could seek federal bankruptcy protection to free itself of copyright-related lawsuits by Hollywood and makers of computer games.

Tuesday’s announcement came just five days after the company suffered another legal setback. On Thursday, a federal judge in New York imposed a worldwide ban on the production and distribution of 321’s Games X Copy software, which let users make what 321’s Web site had called “a PERFECT backup copy of virtually any PC game.”

The injunction came as part of a June lawsuit by three leading makers of video games, marking a new legal front against a company that already was at odds with Hollywood over the company’s DVD-copying software.