Judge Asked to Bar DVD Software

Seven Hollywood studios have raised the stakes in their courtroom battle with 321 Studios, a software developer that makes two programs for duplicating DVD movies.

On Thursday, the studios asked U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in Oakland to permanently forbid 321 Studios and its executives from making or selling the two programs -- DVD Copy Plus and DVDXCopy -- or any similar product that circumvents the electronic locks on DVDs. They also asked to be awarded all of the start-up company’s profit and its entire inventory of the two programs.

St. Louis-based 321 Studios had started the legal maneuvering in April by filing suit against the studios. The company initially asked Illston to declare that DVD Copy Plus was a legal product, and it later amended its lawsuit to seek protection for DVDXCopy as well.

The case is the latest test of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it illegal to pick the electronic locks protecting a digital movie, music or other copyrighted material. In its lawsuit, 321 Studios argued that the restrictions in the DMCA don’t apply or are unconstitutional because their products are used mainly for a legal purpose: letting users make back-up copies of their DVDs.

The company also noted that DVDXCopy includes features to deter pirates, including an electronic code that prevents copies from being duplicated and an identifier that can link pirated discs to their source.

The studios initially asked Illston to dismiss 321 Studios’ lawsuit on procedural grounds. On Thursday, though, they filed a counterclaim accusing 321 of trafficking in illegal products.

Patricia H. Benson, an attorney for the studios, said the legal landscape changed when 321 Studios brought out DVDXCopy, which enables DVD-to-DVD copying.

DVDCopyPlus squeezes DVD movies onto CDs, eliminating the extra features on a DVD in the process.

Benson and Daralyn J. Durie, an attorney for 321 Studios, agreed the central issue of the case hasn’t changed. The only real difference, Durie said, is that the studios added the three owners of 321 Studios to the case, potentially subjecting them to penalties and restrictions.