RealDVD battle has already begun – Real Vs Hollywood Round 1
There has been free software enabling you to rip DVDs to your PC for years now, but that’s not stopping Hollywood going after the first mainstream legal attempt to provide such software. The thing is that while RealDVD does indeed allow you to rip a DVD to your computer, it adds DRM in the process to prevent the content being shared on the Internet. So who’s right? Hollywood or RealNetworks?
RealDVD was announced at the beginning of the month as the first commercially available, legitimate method for ripping DVDs to computers and laptops. Many free examples of similar software already exist, but they are classed as illegal due to their lack of DRM protection.
RealDVD adds an extra layer of DRM protection during the transfer process that means the content is only watchable on the one single PC. This was thought to make the software legal, and hopefully keep Real from being sued. But today has seen RealNetworks issue a pre-emptive lawsuit against the DVD Copy Control Association Inc., Disney, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, and Twentieth Century Fox to name but a few.
According to Ars Technica, this legal manoeuvre has taken place because a threat has been made concerning a lawsuit heading Real’s way. Real is convinced its RealDVD software is ona firm legal footing and so has issued a lawsuit in order to prove as such. If a judge states that the product is legal, then any later legal challenge would become null and void.
TechCrunch has the statement that RealNetworks gave in advance of its lawsuit, part of which reads:
We are disappointed that the movie industry is following in the footsteps of the music industry and trying to shut down advances in technology rather than embracing changes that provide consumers with more value and flexibility for their purchases.
For nearly 15 years RealNetworks has created innovative products that are fully legal, great for consumers, and respectful of the legitimate interests of content creators and rights holders. RealDVD follows in that tradition. We expect to successfully defend our right to make RealDVD available to consumers and consumers’ rights to use it.
This boils down to a massive difference of opinion over the rights of users to create a back-up copy of their purchased DVD on a computer. While Real, and any right thinking individual, considers it perfectly acceptable as long as the content isn’t then going to be shared illegally, Hollywood and copyright holders think ripping is wrong, full stop.
This effort against RealDVD seems utterly bizarre all the while that less than legal alternatives such as DVD Decrypter and Handbrake exist on the Web for free. At least RealNetworks tried to stick to the letter of the law and prevent its software being used for illegal pirating.
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