Injunction Issued Vs. DVD-Copying Maker

Monday, May 24th 2004, 10:02 am

By: News On 6

ST. LOUIS (AP) _ A California company that specializes in encryption technology has obtained the latest court order barring a Missouri company's sale of popular DVD-copying software.

Macrovision Corp. received the preliminary injunction in its patent-infringement lawsuit against 321 Studios Inc., already forbidden by federal judges in recent months from selling its DVD-cloning software.

Less than two weeks ago, 321 founder Robert Moore told a congressional panel the court rulings have put his company ``on the brink of annihilation.'' He said 321 had expected to generate $100 million in sales.

The injunction was issued May 11 by U.S. District Judge Richard Owen in New York but was not made public until Thursday by Macrovision, based in Santa Clara, Calif.

Macrovision, maker of various copyright-protection software products, alleges that 321's software violates its patents on anti-copying software.

Julia Bishop-Cross, a 321 spokeswoman, said that Chesterfield-based company would appeal.

``We're disappointed in the fact that the judge did not address any of the legal arguments we made,'' she said, calling the latest ruling ``just more legal fighting we have to do.''

Most Hollywood DVDs are protected by software flags that trigger the patented anti-copy methods within DVD players, Macrovision attorney Robert Becker said. When those flags are copied by questioned software, the patented methods are illegally triggered and performed, he said.

``Because copy protection is our core business, the conduct of those like 321 Studios that facilitate widespread copying is unacceptable,'' said Bill Krepick, Macrovision's chief executive.

Federal judges in New York and California earlier this year ordered 321 to stop marketing the DVD-copying software _ a victory for Hollywood studios, which contended that such products violate the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. That law bars circumvention of anti-piracy measures used to protect DVDs and other technology.

Since those rulings, 321 has shipped retooled versions of its DVD-copying products, removing the software component required to descramble movies.

Macrovision's technology has been used on more than 2.7 billion video DVDs, 250 million personal computer game compact discs and DVDs, and 275 million music CDs.