New ban for DVD-copying software

A New York federal judge has issued yet another sales ban against 321 Studios' popular DVD-copying software, this time on behalf of copy-protection company Macrovision. The ruling will have little practical impact on sales, because two previous court rulings have already blocked 321 Studios from selling the original version of its software, which could make perfect copies of Hollywood DVDs. The Missouri-based software company has already released a new version of the software stripped of the controversial capability, but it's appealing the earlier rulings.

Macrovision's claim differs from the earlier rulings, based on patent law as well as copyright law. Because the earlier injunctions were already in place, the judge did not address the new issues, however.