DVD Ripping Company Escapes Legal Battle

Engadget recently reported that a company called Kaleidescape has escaped from a lengthy court case, unharmed. Kaleidescape offers a jukebox program for home users that allows the consumer to stream digitized versions of their DVDs throughout a home. In addition to the software to do this, the company offers DVD digitization service; this is most likely where the legal troubles arose.

The DVD Copy Control Association brought the suit and it lasted over three years. Although I don’t know the specifics I can conclude that the problem they had is the copying of ‘locked’ copyrighted material, as it is a violation of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). While it is explicitly illegal, this is certainly not a case of piracy. It is actually much the opposite. The people who would use this service, would most likely be those who are not technically savvy enough to digitize their media on their own, or those who want to make use of its convenience.

It is very encouraging to hear that a company who is allowing the average consumer to make use of media (that they purchased) in a fair way. There isn’t much I like less than the idea of charging people each time they want to use content in a different way. The MPAA’s favorite scenario for distributing their content, is to make you pay to see it in the theatre, pay for it on DVD, pay for it so you can watch it on your computer, and pay to bring it with you on a device like an iPod. It is companies like Kaleidescape, which make it possible for consumers to make fair use of content, and that, is something that I think is worth defending.