AllThingsD » U.S. District Judge

Rent. Rip. R.I.P.: RealDVD Takes a Dirt Nap and RealNetworks Ordered to Pay Hollywood $4.5 Million

John Paczkowski — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:01:54 +0000

The Motion Picture Association of America has finally, and permanently, dispatched RealNetworks’s “legal” DVD ripper, RealDVD. On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, who in January dismissed Real’s antitrust claims against Hollywood, really dropped the hammer on the company. She issued a permanent injunction barring it from manufacturing or trafficking in RealDVD and ordered RealNetworks (RNWK) to pay the studios $4.5 million to reimburse them for costs incurred litigating against it.

In the end, it seems the software that former RealNetworks CEO Robert Glaser described as a “compelling and very responsible product that gives consumers a way to do something they have always wanted to do” was neither.

“We are gratified by the successful conclusion of this important matter,” MPAA General Counsel Daniel Mandil said in a statement. “Judge Patel’s rulings and this settlement affirm what we have said from the very start of this litigation: It is illegal to bypass the copyright protections built into DVDs designed to protect movies against theft. We will continue to vigorously pursue companies that attempt to bring these illegal circumvention products and devices to market.”

Below, a copy of Patel’s order:

RealDVD CourtOrder –

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AT&T Awarded Hug and a Box of Tissues in Verizon Ad Case

John Paczkowski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:07:45 +0000

“AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s ‘There’s A Map For That advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.”

– Excerpt from Verizon’s response to AT&T’s complaints about its new ad campaign

Verizon was right. The truth does hurt. And it is especially painful when it’s meted out by a court of law. A U.S. District judge on Wednesday denied AT&T’s request to force Verizon to pull its “There’s A Map For That” and “Island of Misfit Toys” commercials, saying that while the ads might be “sneaky,” they are not deceptive.

“People might misunderstand [Verizon’s commercials],” said U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten, “but that doesn’t mean they’re misleading.”

He gave AT&T (T) another chance to make its case at a Dec. 16 hearing, but given his dim initial view of the company’s complaint, the carrier seems unlikely to prevail.

AT&T plans to press on with the case anyway. “While we are disappointed with the court’s decision on our request for a temporary restraining order, we still feel strongly that Verizon’s ads mislead consumers into thinking that AT&T doesn’t offer wireless service in large portions of the country, which is clearly not the case,” AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said in an email. “We look forward to presenting our case to the court in the near future.”

In the meantime, AT&T has begun running some attack ads of its own. Sadly, the first effort is not nearly so clever as Verizon’s (VZ) and features far too much Luke Wilson and far too little humor.

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RealDVD Launch Buffering…Buffering…

John Paczkowski — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:47:36 +0000

Looks like RealNetworks’ RealDVD, the company’s new “legal” DVD ripper, is off the market for the foreseeable future. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel on Tuesday renewed the temporary restraining order barring RealNetworks (RNWK) from distributing the software, paying little mind to the company’s claim that the order has already caused it significant harm and would “devastate Real’s ability to ever launch RealDVD successfully or to capitalize on its lead over competitors.”

“I am extending the temporary restraining order because I’m not satisfied in the fact that this technology is not in violation,” Patel explained. “There are serious questions about copyright violations. There are questions about violations of the (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and violations of these companies’ agreement.”

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