321 STUDIOS SHUTS DOWN
PIRACY SUSPECT
Preliminary Injunction and Transfer Motions to be
heard in New York City Court Today
321 Studios (321) declares that its piracy
prevention measures are working on the day transfer and preliminary injunction
motions are to be heard in a New York City courtroom. 321 Studios recently
relied on its DVDXCOPY's built-in piracy prevention measures '“ the backup copy
video disclaimer and ability to remotely de-activate a customer's copy of
DVDXCOPY '“ to shut down an accused copyright pirate.
321 first heard of the Illinois man's alleged
activities in court papers related to Paramount Pictures Corporation and
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation v. 321 Studios, a lawsuit filed in the
Southern District Court of New York on November 14, 2003. The company took
action the same day by remotely de-activating the man's copy of DVDXCOPY
XPRESS.
321 Studios has several anti-piracy measures built
into its DVDXCOPY series of software, including:
- An eight-second, indelible video warning,
similar to the FBI warning found at the beginning of many DVD movies, alerting
viewers of the backup copy that the DVD is not an original and is to be only
used for non-commercial, personal use. - An electronic watermark that can trace any
backup copy made with DVDXCOPY back to the original point of purchase allowing
321 Studios to remotely de-activate the software and prevent further
misuse. - An embedded bit flag that prevents making a copy
of a copy using DVDXCOPY. - A $ 10,000 reward for information leading to the
arrest and conviction of any person using 321's software to pirate
movies.
'Although it was a shock to learn that one of our
customers was arrested for piracy, it is comforting to know that our piracy
prevention measures worked exactly as they were intended," said Rob Semaan, CEO
of 321 Studios. 'The video warning found at the beginning of the copies
made by this alleged infringer not only served as notice to his customers that
the DVDs they were purchasing were not original DVDs, but also enabled the
police to identify any copies he had made using our software. In addition,
our software activation requirement and watermark technology allowed us to
remotely disable his software and prevent any further abuse."
321's anti-piracy tools can assist law enforcement
in identifying DVDs bought on the street as copies rather than originals.
Furthermore, through the watermark technology, 321 Studios can help
investigators track down and prosecute the pirates who made the copies and shut
down their software. 321 Studios stands ready to assist law enforcement at
any time should another case like this arise.
"This case also proves that our customers are not
pirates," Semaan continued. 'Out of the hundreds of thousands of copies of
DVDXCOPY sold, the studios can only point to ONE alleged misuse of our product
and in this one case brought to our attention, we were able to help bring a stop
to it within minutes of learning about it."
Today, in the Southern District Court of New York,
Judge Richard Owen will hear a motion filed by 321 Studios to transfer
Paramount, et al v. 321 Studios to the Northern District Court of California
where a nearly identical case is already under consideration by Judge Susan
Illston.
Judge Owen will also hear a motion filed by the
Plaintiffs for a preliminary injunction against the sale of 321 Studios'
DVDXCOPY products.
About 321 Studios
321 Studios provides software tools to help
consumers protect their investment in digital media, and is the leading provider
of DVD backup, recovery, and creation software. Founded in 2001, 321
Studios' premier DVD backup title, DVD X Copy Platinum, is one of PC Magazine's
'Best Products of 2003'. The company is privately headquartered in St.
Louis, Missouri, with distributors and sales offices throughout Asia-Pacific,
Europe, and the United States. For more information, please visit
www.321studios.com.
About 321 Studios' DVD Piracy
Prevention Program
321 Studios is working to protect consumers'
fair-use rights while preventing the illegal use of its products, and has
established its Piracy Prevention Program so that people can easily report
digital piracy and misuse directly to 321 Studios. Contact 321 Studios by
calling the Piracy Prevention Hotline at 636-720-3769, or email the company at
AntiPiracy@321studios.com.
Individuals will be contacted and $ 10,000 reward paid if government authorities
successfully prosecute the copyright infringer.
Source: 321 Studios
