Tag archive: RealDVD

RealDVD—the $30 “legal” DVD-copying software that almost never was—is no more. Real Networks has announced a settlement with major Hollywood studios in which it agrees to stop selling RealDVD and pay about $4.5 million to cover the studios' litigation costs. It will also refund purchase prices to the 2,700 or so customers who managed to purchase RealDVD for the week or so it was actually on sale back in 2008.… Read More

Back in 2008, Real Networks promised to usher in a new era in digital entertainment with RealDVD, which claimed to offer 100 percent legal copying of DVDs for personal use so owners could enjoy them on their PCs, portable media devices, and other digital technology. Of course, it took Hollywood—in the form of the MPAA—only a short time to slam a lawsuit on RealNetworks claiming RealDVD amounted to little more than… Read More

Almost a year ago, RealNetworks burst forth with a PR campaign promoting RealDVD, a software tool the company touted would enable consumers to make legal backup copies of their DVDs and use them on computers or portable devices without requiring the origianl disc. Of course, as soon as RealDVD hit the strees the MPAA and major movie distributors filed suit against RealNetworks, quickly winning an injunction barring the sale of RealDVD until… Read More

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel has ruled that a court injunction barring the sale of RealNetworks' RealDVD DVD-copying software will stand for at least another month until she has an opportunity to ramp up on the details of the licensing arrangement, how the software functions, and copyright issues involved in the case. Judge Patel indicated after the hearing that the case raises serious issues of licensing and the Digital… Read More

Less than a week after it went on sale, a court has issued an order temporarily requiring RealNetworks to suspend distribution of its DVD-copying product RealDVD. The action comes in response to a lawsuit brought against RealNetworks by the MPAA, alleging RealDVD enables users to bypass the Content Scramble System (CSS) used to protect DVDs from unlicensed copying. RealNetworks maintains that making a copy for personal use is permissible… Read More

RealNetworks' RealDVD DVD-copying software is officially on sale, and its debut has been marked by a salvo of lawsuits: RealNetworks has sued the MPAA over “threats” made against it by the major movie studios, and the MPAA has sued RealNetworks (PDF) alleging RealDVD violates the Digital Millenium Copyright Act by bypassing copy protection built into DVDs. “RealNetworks' RealDVD should be called… Read More

RealNetworks is looking to get into the DVD copying business—only they hope to do it legally—with their new RealDVD application. RealDVD enables users to copy a standard DVD to a computer or portable storage device and watch them later without requiring the original physical disc. How can this be legal? RealDVD wraps the copy in digital rights management software (DRM) that restricts the copy to being played on the machine that… Read More