Though a full trial on the copyright violation case against RealNetworks Inc has been pended, the US District Court Judge Marilyn Patel has issued a preliminary injunction blocking the sale of RealNetworks’ controversial DVD-copying technology, RealDVD.

Since the trial in the case – filed last September by six leading Hollywood studios – would take a year or more to commence, the injunction will be in place till then. However, the Seattle-based RealNetworks has the right to appeal against the recent court decision.

According to the arguments put forth by Hollywood studios, the RealDVD software enabled consumers to copy DVDs to the hard drives of their computers, thereby leading to the infringement of copyrights on movies and TV shows. The studios said that the software would likely eat into their DVD revenue, as it helped in making illegal copies.

Underlining the “fair use” principle pertaining to personal copies of copyrighted work, Judge Patel said in her 57-page ruling: “While it may well be fair use for an individual consumer to store a backup copy of a personally-owned DVD on that individual's computer, a federal law has nonetheless made it illegal to manufacture or traffic in a device or tool that permits a consumer to make such copies.”

The Motion Picture Association of America has hailed Judge Patel’s decision as a victory “for the rule of law in our digital economy.”