DVD licensing group to vote on closing copying loophole
By Eric Bangeman
November 04, 2007 - 11:46PM CT

This week, the DVD Copy Control Association—the group responsible for CSS copy protection—is expected to vote on a Managed Copy Amendment that would close a loophole in the CSS license that allows home media server products like those made by Kaleidescape to legally rip DVDs and store encrypted copies on a hard drive.

The DVD CCA's vote is a belated response to a March ruling in which a judge ruled that Kaleidescape's home media server products do not violate the CSS license. In an opinion issued after a week-long trial, Judge Leslie C. Nichols found that the 20-page CSS spec was not actually included in the license agreement and that Kaleidescape had made good-faith efforts to ensure it was in full compliance with the license.

The centerpiece of the trial was the DVD CCA's often-confusing licensing agreement, which was birthed from a series of 100+ meetings involving entertainment industry lawyers and engineers. An amendment to the CSS license up for a vote this week would expressly prohibit licensees from selling systems that allow users to copy and store CSS-encrypted movies. A previous attempt to alter the license in June failed.

Kaleidescape CEO Michael Malcolm is threatening the DVD CCA with a lawsuit if the amendment is approved. "You should be aware before you vote on the proposed amendment that you expose yourself, your employer, and the DVD CCA to serious and substantial antitrust liability if you vote for either amendment," Malcolm wrote in a letter to the DVD CCA seen by Video Business magazine. Malcolm believes the rules are anticompetitive and targeted at his company specifically.

Ars Technica
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