Press
Contact: Julia Bishop-Cross
(636) 720-3925
press@321studios.com
321 STUDIOS SHUTS DOWN PIRACY SUSPECT
Preliminary Injunction and Transfer Motions to be heard in New York City Court Today
ST. LOUIS, MO – February 5, 2003 – 321 Studios (321) declares that its piracy prevention measures are working on the day transfer and preliminary injunction motions are to be heard in a New York City courtroom.
321 Studios recently relied on its DVDXCOPY’s built-in piracy prevention measures – the backup copy video disclaimer and ability to remotely de-activate a customer’s copy of DVDXCOPY – to shut down an accused copyright pirate.
321 first heard of the Illinois man’s alleged activities in court papers related to Paramount Pictures Corporation and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation v. 321 Studios, a lawsuit filed in the Southern District Court of New York on November 14, 2003. The company took action the same day by remotely de-activating the man’s copy of DVDXCOPY XPRESS.
321 Studios has several anti-piracy measures built into its DVDXCOPY series of software, including:
§ An eight-second, indelible video warning, similar to the FBI warning found at the beginning of many DVD movies, alerting viewers of the backup copy that the DVD is not an original and is to be only used for non-commercial, personal use.
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§ An electronic watermark that can trace any backup copy made with DVDXCOPY back to the original point of purchase allowing 321 Studios to remotely de-activate the software and prevent further misuse.
§ An embedded bit flag that prevents making a copy of a copy using DVDXCOPY.
§ A $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person using 321’s software to pirate movies.
“Although it was a shock to learn that one of our customers was arrested for piracy, it is comforting to know that our piracy prevention measures worked exactly as they were intended,” said Rob Semaan, CEO of 321 Studios. “The video warning found at the beginning of the copies made by this alleged infringer not only served as notice to his customers that the DVDs they were purchasing were not original DVDs, but also enabled the police to identify any copies he had made using our software. In addition, our software activation requirement and watermark technology allowed us to remotely disable his software and prevent any further abuse.”
321’s anti-piracy tools can assist law enforcement in identifying DVDs bought on the street as copies rather than originals. Furthermore, through the watermark technology, 321 Studios can help investigators track down and prosecute the pirates who made the copies and shut down their software. 321 Studios stands ready to assist law enforcement at any time should another case like this arise.
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"This case also proves that our customers are not pirates,” Semaan continued. “Out of the hundreds of thousands of copies of DVDXCOPY sold, the studios can only point to ONE alleged misuse of our product and in this one case brought to our attention, we were able to help bring a stop to it within minutes of learning about it."
Today, in the Southern District Court of New York, Judge Richard Owen will hear a motion filed by 321 Studios to transfer Paramount, et al v. 321 Studios to the Northern District Court of California where a nearly identical case is already under consideration by Judge Susan Illston.
Judge Owen will also hear a motion filed by the Plaintiffs for a preliminary injunction against the sale of 321 Studios’ DVDXCOPY products.
About 321 Studios
321 Studios provides software tools to help consumers protect their investment in digital media, and is the leading provider of DVD backup, recovery, and creation software. Founded in 2001, 321 Studios’ premier DVD backup title, DVD X Copy Platinum, is one of PC Magazine’s ‘Best Products of 2003’. The company is privately headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, with distributors and sales offices throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States. For more information, please visit www.321studios.com.
About 321 Studios' DVD Piracy Prevention Program
321 Studios is working to protect consumers' fair-use rights while preventing
the illegal use of its products, and has established its Piracy Prevention
Program so that people can easily report digital piracy and misuse directly
to 321 Studios. Contact 321 Studios by calling the Piracy Prevention Hotline
at 636-720-3769, or email the company at AntiPiracy@321studios.com. Individuals
will be contacted and $10,000 reward paid if government authorities successfully
prosecute the copyright infringer.