A US district Court has issued an injunction preventing RealNetworks from selling its RealDVD software. RealDVD is basically a DVD ripper, but unlike most applications that let you crack DVD copy protection and copy videos to your hard drive, RealDVD includes its own DRM scheme which prevents users from making multiple copies or watching ripped movies on another computer or portable device.

RealNetworks had been hoping that these restrictions would help the software survive against any legal claims. After all, the courts have a long history of deciding that you have a right to create backup copies of media you purchase for personal use. Unfortunately, the DCMA circumvents this right by declaring that you can't use technology that circumvents copy-protection.

The long and short of it is that the court ruled against the company because its software violates the DCMA. It's not clear whether RealNetworks will appeal the case. Honestly, I doubt there were throngs of people clamoring to buy copies of RealDVD at $30 a pop when there are plenty of free alternatives that don't restrict what you can do with ripped movies.

But RealNetworks had been hoping to launch a version of the software that could be included on set-top boxes like DVD players that would allow users to insert a disc and save the data to a hard drive so they could browse through their movie collections and watch videos without swapping discs. And that's a feature I could see people spending a few bucks for.

RealNetworks is probably the most visible company to come out with a DVD ripping utility. There are dozens, if not hundreds of other applications that let you copy the data from DVDs to your hard drive. But being high profile is sometimes all it takes to land yourself in court -- which is exactly where RealNetworks has found itself, even though the company's RealDVD software includes DRM restrictions that keep you from sharing ripped movies with your friends.

RealNetworks launched RealDVD last fall, but it was only on sale for a brief period before it got sued into partial oblivion by groups representing movie studios. Now the court trial is set to begin.

One interesting tidbit is that the RealDVD software, which lets you rip movies to your hard drive, is just the tip of the iceberg. The New York Times reports that RealNetworks has developed an application for Linux-based set top boxes like DVD players that would let you insert DVDs and save movies to a hard drive for later viewing without the use of a computer. If RealNetworks wins the case, you could see this feature showing up on set top boxes that would sell for under $300.

RealNetworks executivies may have thought that the company was releasing a lawsuit-proof DVD ripper when it decided to add mandatory DRM to its RealDVD application launched last month. After all, while the software lets you rip DVD movies and save the video on your hard drive, it makes it extraordinarily difficult to share the media with other users, or even to watch it on a portable device or another computer you own.

The movie studios apparently saw things differently because they filed a lawsuit last week and received a temporary injuction against RealNetworks that prevents the company from selling the software. During a hearing on Tuesday, a US district court judge made that injunction indefinite. The next hearing won't be scheduled until November 17th or later, which means that RealDVD will be unavailable for at least a month.

Honestly, I'm still not sure why anyone would pay $30 for a DVD ripper when there are so many free, (and DRM-free) options available. But the case is interesting, because RealNetworks is insisiting that by leaving the CSS encryption intact it is not violating anyone's copyrights.

If this argument is upheld in court, it could be seen as both a win and a loss for supporters of DRM. On the one hand, it would help bolster the argument that DRM prevents piracy and that utilizing DRM is a valid option for studios that want to abide by the law. On the other hand, it would mean that companies like RealNetworks can create software that uses DRM to get around exactly what the movie studios wanted to use it for in the first place - to keep people from making copies of DVDs.

Either way, it would be yet another instance of companies and courts telling users how they can and can't enjoy the media they've legally purchased. But it's not at all clear how the courts will rule on this case yet.

[via NewTeeVee]

You know how RealNetworks confidently launched a commercial DVD ripping program and then went and pre-emptively sued a bunch of movie studios to demonstrate in court that the software doesn't infringe on copyrights? Yeah, the studios sued back. And while the courts figure out how to deal with the whole mess, RealNetworks has been ordered to stop selling the RealDVD software.

NewTeeVee reports that this is just a temporary shutdown until Tuesday. The purpose is to give the judge time to review the details of the case.

Meanwhile, there are still plenty of applications that will let you rip DVDs for free, although few, if any, keep a DVD's CSS encryption intact the way that RealDVD does. So if you're a big fan of DRM, especially the heavy-handed kind that will only let you watch a ripped movie on a single computer, you might want to wait until this legal battle is worked out. If you prefer being able to watch movies your own way, you might want to check out Handbrake or Fair Use Wizard.

Say you're a major multimedia software company and you've just released a product that you absolutely know is going to tick off copyright holders, like say, major movie studios. You could wait around and for someone to file a lawsuit saying that your software, like say, a DVD ripper, violates their copyrights. Or you could try to resolve the issue before it gets to that point and file your own pre-emptive lawsuit. And that's exactly what RealNetworks has done.

A few weeks ago the company announced a public beta of RealDVD, an application that lets you make backups of your DVDs for viewing on a PC. Unlike free alternatives including DVD Decrypter and Handbrake, RealDVD utilizes Digital Rights Management so that you can only watch your video on a single PC. That move was likely intended to help make the software lawsuit-proof.

Today RealNetworks officially launched the commercial version of RealDVD, which costs about $50 (although there's a limited time $20 off deal, so you can pick it up for $30 today). And the company has also asked a federal court to rule that RealDVD is legal since it copies an entire DVD to a hard drive, including the CSS encryption that prevents users from making unauthorized copies. In other words, sure, you can backup your DVDs with RealDVD, but you won't easily be able to rip a DVD and post it on the internet for anyone else to download.

Love DRM or hate it, (wait, does anybody actually love DRM), the argument does make sense. And it could make RealDVD the first DVD backup solution to hold up in court. You know, if RealNetworks wins.

[via paidContent]

RealNetworks, makers of RealPlayer and the company that brought you the Rhapsody subscription music service are expected to announced a new product called RealDVD today. What's RealDVD? It's a DVD ripper. But unlike most DVD rippers available today, RealDVD makes a complete copy of a disc right down to the menus, alternate audio tracks, and special features. Oh yeah, and the software only lets you play that copy on a single computer thanks to some heavy-handed DRM.

There is a way around this restriction. You can transfer the file to up to 5 additional Windows PCs by purchasing up to 5 additional software licenses at $20 a pop. The first license will cost you around $30.

Of course, there are plenty of other applications that let you rip movies for free. And they don't add DRM. A few of my favorites are:

• Fair Use Wizard
• RatDVD
• Handbrake
• DVD Catalyst Free

Technically it's illegal to use the aforementioned apps to rip commercial DVDs. But if you plan to make a backup of your movie collection for viewing on your PC and don't plan to distribute those movies on the internet, odds are nobody will come banging down your door. And you don't need to pay $20 if you buy a new computer and want to move your collection from one PC to the next.