A federal judge ruled Friday that a software program that copies DVDs illegally violates the copyrights of Hollywood studios.

Judge Susan Illston ruled in San Francisco that software made by the Chesterfield, Mo.-based 321 Studios, violates the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits the circumvention of anti-piracy measures such as the Content Scramble System protecting movies on DVDs.

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In her ruling, Illston agreed with the studios that the software violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and that the law does not violate the right to free speech nor does it interfere with the fair use rights of consumers.

``While 321's software does use the authorized key to access the DVD, it does not have authority to use this key, as licensed DVD players do, and it therefore avoids and bypasses (the Content Scramble System),'' the judge wrote Friday.

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