321 Studios is already subject to an injunction following an action by the film industry.
Most DVDs contain anti-copying software, known as CSS, or Content Scrambling System, which uses encryption to prevent them from being copied, except by players containing the correct keys. 321 Studios developed software, incorporated in products called DVD Copy Plus and DVD-X COPY that "ripped" the CSS, allowing the copying of the DVD.
Unsurprisingly, 321 has been the subject of numerous lawsuits, culminating in February this year when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) succeeded in its action against the company.
That action was based on the controversial 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits people from using or distributing devices that can bypass copyrights and copy prevention measures. The UK has similar provisions, which came into force late last year.
In court, 321 argued that the software merely allowed people to make fair use of their DVDs, making backup copies in case the original was destroyed or damaged. The MPAA countered with the argument that the software allowed people to use unauthorised versions of the encryption keys – and the court agreed.
The more recent action, brought by Macrovision, not only asserted that 321 had breached the DMCA, but also accused the company of patent infringement in respect of its content protection technologies.
"The vast majority of Hollywood DVDs are protected by software flags that trigger the patented anti-copy methods within DVD players," explained Macrovision's lawyer Robert Becker.
He continued: "When those flags are copied by DVD X Copy, the patented methods are triggered and performed without license from Macrovision. A patent infringement results. When the software flags are removed, the anti-copy mechanism is circumvented, resulting in a violation of the DMCA."
Macrovision has now been granted a preliminary injunction barring 321 from selling the various versions of its DVD copying software. Judge Richard Owen of the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York issued the preliminary injunction after determining the software had violated federal law, according to Macrovision.
Associated Press reports that 321 has vowed to appeal. It also faces actions in the US brought by the DVD Copy Control Association, and Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures. It is also being sued in the UK by Warner Home Video and the Motion Picture Association.