Hollywood has secured a crucial victory in its war on piracy against RealNetworks.

The Motion Picture Association Of America (MPAA) and the DVD Copy Control Association obtained a permanent injunction from a US judge on Wednesday [March 3] barring the company from manufacturing or trafficking its RealDVD copy software or any similar product.

US District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered the Seattle-based company to abandon its claims against the studios and pay $4.5m to reimburse them in legal fees.

On August 11 2009 Judge Patel granted the studios motion for a preliminary injunction against RealNetworks’ RealDVD product, ruling that RealDVD would likely be found to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Content Scramble System licence.

“We are gratified by the successful conclusion of this important matter,” the MPAA’s general counsel and chief content protection officer Daniel Mandil said.

“Judge Patel’s rulings and this settlement affirm what we have said from the very start of this litigation: it is illegal to bypass the copyright protections built into DVDs designed to protect movies against theft. We will continue to vigorously pursue companies that attempt to bring these illegal circumvention products and devices to market.”