Motion Picture Industry Takes Action To Stop Chip Manufacturers from Helping to Facilitate Piracy
December 05, 2005
Los Angeles, CA - The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) announced that the major film studios have filed breach of contract lawsuits against two Taiwanese DVD chip manufacturers, Cheertek, Inc. and Sunplus Technology Company, Ltd., for violating the Content Scramble System (CSS) license agreement that protects DVDs against illegal reproduction and redistribution. The lawsuits follow four similar actions that all resulted in the entry of injunctions against other major chip manufacturers. The MPAA says that such initiatives are critical to the studios as breach of the CSS license facilitates piracy around the world.
“The CSS license protects valuable copyrights and companies that sign it must abide by its terms.” stated Dan Robbins, Chief Technology Counsel for the MPAA. “The courts in each of the four prior lawsuits all issued injunctions banning future violations of the license and we intend to seek out and move promptly against any further violations.”
Over the last year, the MPAA says their member companies have stepped up their efforts to crack down on the illegal distribution of CSS chips that are used to unlock the security features on copyrighted motion pictures on DVDs. The CSS license restricts integrated circuit suppliers from selling CSS chips to DVD player and computer manufacturers that do not have a valid CSS license because such entities have no contractual obligations to implement appropriate security features. Both Cheertek and Sunplus have signed the CSS license and agreed to these restrictions. An investigation by the Content Protection Compliance Testing Lab at the MPAA uncovered that the companies had allegedly sold chips to a number of non-licensed companies who used the chips in DVD players that lacked appropriate security features.
The CSS license has provided the baseline protection that has enabled the studios to provide consumers with over 40,000 DVD titles. The motion picture studios are third-party beneficiaries of the CSS license and may enforce it against licensees who fail to honor its terms.
The MPAA says that a federal interagency report published in 2004 estimated that counterfeit and pirated goods, including those of copyrighted works, cost the American economy $250 billion a year. The MPAA estimates its member companies lost $3.5 billion last year due to piracy of hard goods alone, not including losses on the Internet. Working with law enforcement around the world, the MPAA seized more than 76 million illegal optical discs in 2004.
About the MPAA:
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. These members include: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.; Paramount Pictures; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal Studios from Universal City Studios; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
For more information go to:
Motion Picture Association of America
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