AfterDawn: News

Warner sues 321 Studios Europe

The legal fight between 321 Studios and the major Hollywood studios has expanded to Europe. Warner Home Video (part of AOL TimeWarner media giant) has decided to sue 321 Studios' European arm, 321 Studios Europe, in the UK.

Warner (being supported and pushed by the MPAA) is seeking an injunction against HRC Distribution Limited and 321 Studios Europe to prevent the sale and distribution of 321 Studios' products, such as DVD X Copy and DVD X Copy XPRESS, that allow backing up DVD-Video discs to DVD-/+R discs.



This is the first major case in the EU that involves DVD decrypting tools and its timing is somewhat weird, since the EUCD law, which would clearly make any distribution of DVD decrypting tools, is not implemented in most European countries yet.

More information:

BBC
Telegraph

Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 2 Sep 2003 16:04

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• 10 comments

• Dela

  lol weird time to start but hey why not, they would sue a 10 year old kid for downloading 3 frames of a dvd rip if they had the chance :-)
  

  http://www.BillLonero.com - Check out a true artists music!
  
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  2.9.2003 20:13 #1

• brettussd

  Something else I can't believe! I don't agree that it should be illegal to circumvent copy protections, ie DeCSS. I do agree however that it should be illegal to *use* such circumvention tools as DVD X Copy to copy copy-protected. The blame should be laid at the feet of the actual user who does the copying, not companies like 321 Studios. The same goes for P2P filesharing. The world is bonkers, especially the legal systems in companies like the US and Australia.
  

  "Cry havoc! Let slip the dogs of war!" -- Julius Caeser

  2.9.2003 20:51 #2

• Discmania

  There shouldn't be any blame. It should be LEGAL to backup your own copies of movies. This is just the Gorilla against the mouse and it will go on for ever.

  2.9.2003 23:27 #3

• Powa

  The interesting thing about this forum is people keep on running everything under the thin guise of "backup this, backup that".
  
  Fact is if it isn't legal to backup your dvd, then why are there guides etc and help forums on this very topic. You are hypocrites when you tell someone off for talking about piracy etc. especially when you actually have illegal content on this site ("backup" guides). People also use this info to hire dvds/games out and then copy them.
  

  ->E§F<-

  2.9.2003 23:51 #4

• Discmania

  Well the answer is not that difficult to fathom. Most people on this site think that copying DVD's should be legal for personal use. What people do in private in terms of copying hired discs, etc is something no one can monitor but this site doesn't promote or condone that. Would you say that copying audio Cd's (which everyone does like it or not) is a criminal act punishable by death? If that's the case why do all the big media companies make billions selling CD-R drives? Surely not to make data CD's....

  3.9.2003 00:05 #5

• Ghostdog

  Quote: since the EUCD law, which would clearly make any distribution of DVD decrypting tools, is not implemented in most European countries yet. What? I thought we had a deadline for that?

  3.9.2003 05:29 #6

• devin10

  Actually this really should be a grey area still.
  
  Congress Seems to come up with a new law every day regarding the backing up uf copyrighted materials but the constitutionality of these laws is very much a joke.
  
  The fact is these laws dont really even protect copright holders.
  Copyright law has always been divided into 2 separate parts. Those rights reserved to the Copyright holder, and the rest were granted to the consumer.
  
  Congress comes along with the DMCA and stripped away almost every right that had been traditionally reserved to the consumer.
  
  They did however reiterate, and redefine an earlier supreme court ruling ie the VHS case
  to include technologies of the Digital Millenium such as Tivo etc.
  
  It was also ruled by the Supreme Court that
  - and this is important because all current legislation are contrary to this - that media licenses are NOT bound to the medium, but to the licensee. Therefore, the process of transferring a media from one medium to another, ie Disc to Hard Drive, CD to Mp3,
  a process known as "Space Shifting" therefore constituted no copyright infringement.
  
  Now who is really being protected?
  
  Not the copyright holder i assure you.
  
  does anyone think that it was an accident that LOTR was released at this point in time?
  At 14$ a pop they're more concerned that come
  time for relese of #3, everyone has One Ring on ther mind - pun intended.
  I dont think they minded at all that people were downloading their traler last year without using any of their bandwidth.
  
  Visit BTAT.com or DigitalArchive.com Ibiblio.com or Etree.com
  
  15 years ago, a rare few artists dared to challenge the industries.
  This is all about a shift in the balance of power.
  Small copyright holders were at the mercy of the industry if they ever waned to put out a track or get a tour.
  Not to say its all in their hands but a band makes alot if not most of their money on tour.
  Go to thse Sites I just mentioned above.
  
  You will find 1500 maybe 2000 different bands
  on the lists of those who like the Dead and Phish - allow their fans to tape and trade their shows.
  
  Visit live Phish .com - just for an example
  
  then write a letter to yor favorite band's fan club.
  Tell them they need to organize a site of their own.
  
  Then buy something from them.
  The RiAA needs to go.
  
  
  thank you.
  
  
  
  
  

  3.9.2003 06:47 #7

• GrayArea

  2 words. FAIR USE
  
  Content "owners" and your elected officials are hoping you continue to be clueless as to this concept/right*.
  
  *See DMCA consumer rights removal tool.
  

  We mustn't lower ourselves to the level of those we loathe, lest we become loathsome ourselves.
  

  3.9.2003 08:19 #8

• Toiletman

  Meh. RIAA, MPAA, whatever.
  

  When you are on your deathbed, you will wonder, "Did I waste my life? Was it worth spending all that time on that?" Do not despair, no one has wasted their life. After all, you can only waste something if you throw it away. And you can't throw life away.

  3.9.2003 11:32 #9

• vudoo

  I know DVD Xcopy will never die. The industry is spoiled and they know it. The fact that we have rights when we purchase things loke DVD's shall not be changed. When the VCR was invented the studios did not like the fact that we were able to record copyrighted works from TV or from anouther VCR for that matter. DVD Xcopy is just anouther way for your computer to act as a digital VCR. This is why I supported 321 studios and bought DVD Xcopy Express. And as far as CD's go the industry wants no part of us being able to burn CD's to back up our music. The laws are changing because we are fickle and allow for this to happen. Most of the yung people are easy to convince that they are a criminal if they copy anything. Well technically we are were breaking the law when we take a newspaper article to Kinkos Copy Center to be copied. This will not end with Movies and Music but it will go even ferther to taxt meterial as well. This is why intellectual property copyright should be restricted so that no one can take credit for the work and no ferther then that. It will be said someday where musicians and acters and actresses will be doing the entertainment thing as a second job instead of a career.
  
  Voodoohippie

  7.9.2003 17:51 #10