DVD Duplication New York

Several lawsuits have been filed in New York in the last couple of years regarding media duplication. It is important for the general public to be aware of these lawsuits and their implications to avoid any legal missteps when using duplication software in their homes. The best defense against a lawsuit is a thorough understanding of the law.

A common argument for proponents of media duplication is the protection of freedom of speech. This argument rarely holds up in court. One of the well-known New York court cases involving media duplication is known as the 2600 case. In January 2000, eight Hollywood studios brought a lawsuit against three websites for promoting DeCSS, a program allowing the decryption of the Content Scrambling System (CSS) found on most copyrighted DVD discs. One of the websites was run by the hacker publication 2600 Magazine, which is where the case obtained its nickname. The Hollywood studios invoked the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a controversial law prohibiting many acts of media piracy.

Due to the nature of the lawsuit, judgment was issued in favor of the plaintiffs, the Hollywood studios, and the websites were ordered to remove all discussions of DeCSS, as well as any links to other websites promoting the program. The defendants appealed the decision, but the ruling was upheld in November 2001.

Law enforcement officials are still keeping a careful eye on potential copyright infringement in the state of New York. In April 2005, the New York Police Department's Bronx Task Force and Manhattan District Attorney Squad conducted a raid in which three people were arrested. In the process, over 10,000 media discs were confiscated, in addition to nearly 100 media burners.