321 Studios Updates DVD Copying Tool

DVD authoring software provider 321 Studios has released another upgrade to its DVD copying software despite still being embroiled in court over the software's legality.

The company has announced DVD X Copy Gold, an improved version of the software that includes all of the features of two previous products, DVD X Copy and DVD X Copy Xpress. The updated program, available now, is priced at $119.

New features in DVD X Copy Gold let users copy most DVDs within an hour and record all features of an original CD or compress a DVD-9 to a DVD-5, fitting each backup copy onto a single DVD disk, according to 321 Studios.

The company's software uses a decryption technology called DeCSS to let users copy DVD movies onto recordable DVDs and CD-R discs. Its method circumvents the Contents Scrambling System (CSS) encryption placed on the movies to prevent this sort of copying.

Software Suit

Meanwhile, 321 Studios is currently involved in a court case with MGM Studios, Tristar Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Time Warner Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Universal City Studios, and The Saul Zaentz Company over the sale and use of its software.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, began the case by saying that she was "substantially persuaded" by the opinions of other judges in earlier cases involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Those judges had ruled it illegal to distribute tools to work around copy protection technology. The new software seems unlikely to help 321 Studios' case.

Terry Rose, managing director of 321 Studios in the UK, says that the changes to the software are not aimed at lessening the charges against it. He would not comment on the court case, other than to confirm it is still ongoing.

Business As Usual

DVD X Copy Gold is 321 Studios' second new release in little more than a month. In May, the company released DVD X Copy Xpress, which squeezes copies of most movies onto a single disc. It copies only the movie and soundtrack, not the menus, multiple language tracks, or other special features now packaged with most DVDs.

Mark Fisher, a new-media attorney with Fish and Richardson P.C. in Boston, says 321 Studios' announcement shows the company believes in its case that its product is not illegal.

"It's not a quantum leap in features, just an improvement to the compression, so I don't think it will change the court case. (321's) position is that they have every right to do what they're doing, so there's no reason not to bring out new products," Fisher says.

According to a timeline on its own Web site, 321 Studios began a suit against the movie companies in April 2002. The company asked the judge to declare that its product, DVD Copy Plus, does not violate the 1998 DMCA. The movie studios responded with their own suit in June 2002, asking that the original case be dismissed on the grounds that there is no case or controversy.

Claim and counterclaim have continued since then. The current case, a motion for a partial summary judgment that 321 Studios' products are illegal, was begun by the movie studios in January, 321 Studios' site says. Judgment is expected to take 30 to 60 days from the mid-May court date in front of District Court Judge Illston, the site says.