321 Studios (DVDxCopy) fights DVD copier lawsuit in United Kingdom

October 25, 2003

321 Studios, the developers
of DVDxCopy are
currently sued in the United States and the United Kingdom because
their software circumvents the copy protection system used on DVDs. According to
the Motion Picture Association of Amercia (MPAA) the software is only used to
pirate movies and should therefor be forbidden. 321 Studios believes in fair
rights and defends itself by stating that its software should be used for making
personal backups.

Only recently the lawsuit in the United Kingdom was
announced and 321 already stated on our website that it would fight back. Now also other
websites report
that 321 Studios will fight back with additional information.

Rob Semaan, chief executive at 321, said in a
statement: "The [UK] lawsuit mirrors similar actions in the US. Once both
sides have eventually clarified all questions, the court will set a
timetable for the case. "We believe we have a solid argument, and
that our customers have the right to make back-ups of legally purchased
DVDs for their own personal use.

"We will fight it all the way, and are certainly not prepared to take
it lying down or shut up shop and go away." The lawsuits are part of the
entertainment industry's bid to combat piracy, which it claims is aided by
software such as 321's. But 321 insists that consumers making a back-up
copy of a CD or DVD is not piracy, and claimed that it is impractical and
economically unrealistic to use its software for piracy.

321 Studios is now sued in 2 different countries, which makes their position
very hard. If they win in the US they could still be up to huge fines in the UK,
and the opposite. Support them and buy their software and of course sign the petition at http://www.protectfairuse.org

Source: VNUNET.com