RealNetworks gave up Wednesday on its battle to sell RealDVD, software that allowed consumers to easily copy the content of DVDs to their computers.
Last August, a federal judge blocked the sale of the software, ruling in favor of Hollywood studios, which said RealNetworks had violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and misused its license to the vital DVD encryption software, called the Content Scramble System. RealNetworks appealed the court injunction and also pursued a related antitrust case against the movie industry.
On Wednesday, the parties settled the litigation — with RealNetworks of Seattle making all of the concessions. The company agreed to the injunction against selling the RealDVD software and said it would pay the studios $4.5 million in legal costs. RealNetworks will also refund the money paid by the approximately 2,700 existing customers of RealDVD.
“We are pleased to put this litigation behind us,” Bob Kimball, president and acting chief executive of RealNetworks, said in a statement. “This is another step toward fulfilling our commitment to simplify our company and focus on our core businesses.”
Jacob Pak, president of the DVD Copy Control Association, the industry group that controls licenses to DVD encryption technology, hailed the agreement. “Now, after months of arguments from both sides, the legal message is clear: making a DVD copier is a breach,” he said in a statement.