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DVD-CCA (sort of) wins one - November 6, 2007

On the eve of a critical meeting where DVD-CCA's Copy Protection Advisory Council (CPAC) is scheduled to take up two controversial studio proposals to amend the CSS license, a U.S. District Court in California found in favor of the studios in a breach of contract case against a Chinese DVD player manufacturer, AKI Digital Electrical Appliance Co. Ltd.

The court ordered a recall of all AKI players. According to the court, AKI was rather less than diligent at incorporating security features into its players required by the CSS license it signed.

Although the CSS license is administered by DVD-CCA, the lawsuit against AKI was actually brought by the MPAA on behalf of its members, who, as third-party beneficiaries of the CSS license are entitled to bring a legal action to enforce it.

"Compliance with the CSS license is critical in ensuring that creative works are not illegally reproduced," MPAA VP and associate general counsel Dan Robbins said in a statement. "All companies that sign the CSS license must honor its terms by making secure products that protect DVD content. Eight courts have issued permanent injunctions banning future violations of the license, and we intend to pursue other violators through the courts."

At least one court, however, has ruled against DVD-CCA in a breach of contract suit: the California state court in the Kaleidescape case.

Wednesday's CPAC meeting to consider a proposed amendment to the CSS license that would effectively moot the court's decision in Kaleidescape is shaping up to be a lively affair. The group will be meeting under threat of litigation from Kaleidescape. Meanwhile, Media Wonk hears that studio reps within DVD-CCA have nudged the issue up the chain of command, enlisting senior studio management to lobby their counterparts at tech companies in the group to support the amendment despite the near-certainty of facing antitrust litigation.

No one is saying who may have called whom, but the consensus seems to be that the additional lobbying will not be enough to secure the votes the studios need to pass the amendment.
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