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DVD copying software gets pulled

Software which claimed to be a legal way of copying DVDs has been withdrawn following legal action.

RealNetworks - the firm behind the software - has responded to restraining order issued by a US court stopped selling the RealDVD software.

Six major movie studios jointly sued the company on 30 September - the day the software was launched.

San Francisco District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel is due to review the case on 7 October.

Common ground

RealDVD is touted by RealNetworks as a legal way to turn a PC into a media server.

“It makes it easy to pause a program and resume right where you left off, makes it easy to find the movie you want and no more lost or scratched discs,” said Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, on his firm’s blog.

Mr Glaser claims that a second layer of encryption is built into the software but the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) said RealDVD circumvents its rules about copying.

The RealDVD site was taken down on 3 October but a defiant message posted to it read: “Rest assured, we will continue to work diligently to provide you with software that allows you to make a legal copy of your DVDs for your own use.”

Mr Glaser expressed disappointment at the turn of events.

“As a company with a nearly 15 year track record of innovation that’s both great for consumers and fully respectful of intellectual property, we’re disappointed that the movie studios thought they had to file lawsuits,” he wrote in his blog.