RealNetworks vs. Hollywood litigation drags on

By now I had hoped to be able to write a blog post celebrating the end of this long-simmering litigation, but if anything, things are getting hotter than ever.

The case involves RealDVD, a $30 application that lets you rip DVDs to your hard drive and for viewing only on that computer, which I reviewed in September 2008. Just as it was formally released, the MPAA and its member studios in Hollywood sued Real because of the software's circumvention of copy protection, a violation of the DMCA. RealDVD was taken offline after a temporary injunction was granted by the courts in October, and it has remained that way ever since.

After months of delays and extensions, Real finally went to trial this April. Although reporters were kicked out of the courtroom (arguing that the DVD protection system was a trade secret that should not be discussed in a public forum), details continue to emerge as the trial wears on.

The latest news: Real is firing back against Hollywood, including the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA), on antitrust grounds, arguing that the studios are illegally colluding to prevent consumers from excersing their fair use rights under the law. Real also calls the studios a cartel, which refuses "to enter into individual licenses to enable the to gain more value from their DVDs, without having to pay again to make a fair-use copy of the DVDs they had already purchased." Real is seeking not only an end to the practice but monetary damages as well.

Closing arguments in the case are expected to take place on May 21, but the antitrust claims are certain to drag on far longer than that.

There's no telling how this will all turn out. The courts have been overwhelmingly in favor of Hollywood in recent years, but exceptions exist, most notably the case of Kaleidescape, which makes high-end DVD ripping hardware and faced a similar lawsuit from Hollywood and the DVD CCA in 2007. Kaleidescape won that suit and now sells its systems without restriction. The same logic may very well be applied in the Real case... or this judge could go a wholly different way. Stay tuned.