28 January 2000. Thanks to PK and 2600.
Source: Fax of 10-page hardcopy

See related New York and Connecticut complaints: http://cryptome.org/dvd-mpaa-v-4.htm
New York court filings: http://cryptome.org/dvd-mpaa-v-3.htm
New York preliminary injunction: http://cryptome.org/dvd-mpaa-3-pi.htm

Compare request for relief here with excerpt of the preliminary injunction.

[Ten pages]

[Fax header:]
JANUARY 26 2000 12:25 FR PROSKAUER ROSE LLP 11212 969 2926 TO *3939*53185005*7 P.02/11 - 11/11

Leon P. Gold (LG-1434)
William M. Hart (WH-1604)
PROSKAUER ROSE LLP
1585 Broadway
New York, New York 10036
(212) 969-3000 Telephone
(212) 969-2900 Facsimile

Jon A. Baumgarten (pro hac vice admission to be applied for)
PROSKAUER ROSE LLP
1233 20th Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036-2396
(202) 416-6800 Telephone
(202) 416-6899 Facsimile

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

Plaintiffs Universal City Studios, Inc.; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.; Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.; Time Warner Entertainment Co., L.P.; Disney Enterprises, Inc.; and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation [illegible] attorneys Proskauer Rose LLP, as and for their amended complaint, allege as follows:

Nature of Claims

1. This is an Amended Complaint for injunctive relief and related relief against Shawn C. Reimerdes ("Reimerdes"), Eric Corley a/k/a "Emmanuel Goldstein" ("Corley") and Roman Kazan ("Kazan") (collectively, the "Defendants"), individuals responsible for proliferating a digital device that unlawfully defeats the DVD copy protection and access control system -- the Content Scramble System ("CSS") -- so that individuals can make, distribute, and/or otherwise illegally transmit or perform unauthorized copies of Plaintiffs' copyrighted motion pictures and/or audiovisual works. The acts of the Defendants, which are described more fully below, violate the provisions of the United States Copyright Act governing circumvention of copyright protection systems, 17 U.S.C. § 1201, et seq.

The Parties

2. Plaintiff Universal Studios, Inc., is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.

3. Plaintiff Paramount Pictures Corporation is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.

4. Plaintiff Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.

5. Plaintiff TriStar Pictures, Inc., is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.

6. Plaintiff Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.

7. Plaintiff time Warner Entertainment Co., L.P., is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the State of Delaware.

8. Plaintiff Disney Enterprises, Inc., is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.

9. Plaintiff Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.

10. Plaintiffs are the major motion picture studios in the United States. Each plaintiff is engaged in the business of producing, manufacturing, and/or distribution of copyrightable and copyrighted material, including, specifically, motion pictures. Plaintiffs, either directly or through their affiliates, distribute motion pictures theatrically, via television broadcast, and on portable media such as videocassette tapes and digital versatile discs ("DVDs") for distribution to the home video market. In the course of its business, each plaintiff or its predecessor in rights obtained ownership of the United States copyrights, the exclusive reproduction, production, and/or distribution rights under United States copyrights, and/or state statutory and common law rights, in various motion pictures in DVD format in the United States, including such recent blockbusters as "Titanic" and "The Matrix," and approximately 4,000 titles which have been released in the United States on DVD to date. Current industry estimates place DVD sales at over 1,000,000 units per week.

11. On information and belief, defendant Reimerdes either resides or has his principal place of business at xxxxxx, NY xxxxx and/or xxxxxx, NY xxxxx. Defendant Reimerdes operates an Internet web site addressed as www.dvd-copy.com. [Addresses omitted by Cryptome.]

12. On information and belief, defendant Corley, who, on information and belief, uses nom de net "Emmanuel Goldstein, either resides or has his principal place of business at xxxxxx, New York. Corley a/k/a Emmanuel Goldstein operates an Internet web site at www.2600.com/news/1999/112-files/.

13. On information and belief, defendant Kazan either resides or has his principal place of business at xxxxxx, New York xxxxx. Defendant Kazan operates an Internet web site at www.krackdown.com/decss/.

Jurisdiction and Venue

14. The Court has jurisdiction of this action under 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq., 28 U.S.C. [illegible] (federal question) and 1338(a) (copyright).

15. This court has personal jurisdiction over the Defendants in that each Defendant resides or has his principal place of business in the State of New York.

16. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) and 28 U.S.C. [illegible](a) as (a) this is a judicial district in which a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claims occurred, and/or (b) all of the defendants reside in the State of New York and this is a federal district in which some of the defendants reside, and/or (c) this is a judicial district in which some of the defendants may be found, and there is no judicial district in which the action may otherwise be brought.

Background Facts

DVD Technology

17. With the advent of the VCR and videocassette tapes, home viewing of motion pictures became a convenient, inexpensive way to enjoy motion pictures. DVDs are 5-inch-wide discs that hold full-length motion pictures, are the most current technological advancement for private home viewing of motion pictures. This technology significantly improves the clarity and the overall quality of the motion picture when played on a television screen or computer monitor.

18. DVDs incorporating full-length motion pictures, together with additional and ancillary features such as interviews and alternative sound tracks, can be played back for viewing in the home by dedicated, free standing "DVD players" and by personal computers configured with a DVD "drive" and additional hardware or software modules, sometimes referred to as "media players."

19. DVDs contain digital information. When motion pictures in form are digital copied or transmitted, the clarity and overall quality of the motion pictures do not suffer (as they do when a copy is made from an analog source, such as a video cassette). Moreover, the fact that the motion pictures contained on DVDs are in digital format allows any unauthorized copies of those motion pictures from DVDs to be transmitted over the Internet, stored in computer [illegible], and duplicated for unlawful sale, transfer and exchange. Once these copies are in the hands of another user, the unlawful process can begin once again because the copies have the clarity and quality of the original DVDs containing the motion picture.

Contents Scramble Systems ("CSS")

20. Because motion pictures in unprotected digital format on DVDs would be subject to ready unlimited copying and create a threat to the market viability of DVD technology, the plaintiffs were reluctant to release valuable film libraries and new film releases without the implementation of a copy protection and access control system. Plaintiffs therefore ultimately accepted  a copy protection and access control system developed by Matshusita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. and Toshiba Corporation -- the Contents Scramble System ("CSS") -- in order to provide security to the copyrighted contents of DVDs and thereby provide protection for the copyrighted content against unauthorized copying. CSS includes elements of encryption and other security and authentication measures that require DVD playback devices, including appropriately configured personal computers, to operate with certain keys in order to descramble and intelligibly play back copies of motion pictures from DVDs. All members of the DVD industry, including software and hardware manufacturers of DVD players, DVD replicators and the content providers -- the motion picture studios -- adopted CSS as direct licensees or by [illegible] through CSS licensees.

21. Each of the plaintiffs relied upon the security provided by CSS in manufacturing, protecting and distributing to the public copyrighted motion pictures in DVD format. Those motion pictures, may of which involved investments of tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars, were distributed on CSS-protected DVDs.

Descrambling of CSS and the Creation and Proliferation of the "DeCSS" Utility

22. On information and belief, hackers in Europe were able to descramble the encryption on DVDs and create -- and post on the World Wide Web -- an unauthorized utility commonly referred to as "DeCSS," which allows motion pictures in DVD format to be decrypted and illegally copied.

23. Subsequently, defendant Reimerdes posted DeCSS on his Internet Web site, www.dvd-copy, along with the statement "Yes, you can trade DVD movie files over the Internet. You can break the encryption on any DVD and allow users to copy the contents of a DVD into the a [sic] hard drive or alternative media! Notice: The DVD Copy Control Association are cocksuckers!" Reimerdes also told Internet users,under a section titled "How To Find/Trade FREE DVD Movies Online," that "people gather online in impromptu communities to trade these digital copies through one-to-one file transfers and group chatting."

24. Defendant Eric Corley a/k/a Emmanuel goldstein also posted DeCSS on his Internet web site www.2600.com/news/1112-files. In addition, Corley has designed and and in that site "hot links" to the DeCSS file. Corley's site states that DeCSS is a "free DVD decoder" that allows "people to copy DVDs." Corley's site also exhorts others ("as many of you as possible all throughout the world") to "take and mirror [the DeCSS] files. . . ."

25. Defendant Roman Kazan also posted DeCSS on his Internet web site, www.krackdown.com/decss/.

Claim for Relief
(Violation of Provisions Governing Circumvention
of Copyright Protection Systems,
17 U.S.C. § 1201 et seq.)

26. Plaintiffs incorporate by this reference the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 25, inclusive.

27. The Copyright Act, Title 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(2), provides that:

[n]o person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that:

(A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;

(B) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title; or

(C) is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with that person with that person's knowledge for use in circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.

28. Each defendant offers to the public, provides, or otherwise traffics in, DeCSS through his Internet website.

29. CSS is a technological measure that (a) effectively controls access to works protected by the Copyright Act, and (b) effectively protects rights of copyright owners to control whether an end user can reproduce, manufacture, adapt, publicly perform and/or distribute unauthorized copies of their copyright works or portions thereof.

30. DeCSS (a) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing the protection afforded by CSS, (b) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent CSS or the protection afforded by CSS, and/or (c) is marketed by Defendants and/or others acting in concert with them with the knowledge of its use in circumventing CSS or the protection afforded by CSS.

31. By offering to the public, providing, or otherwise trafficking in DeCSS, Defendants have violated the provisions governing Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems set forth in the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 1201 et seq.

32. Unless enjoined by this Court, Defendants' violations will continue. Plaintiffs' remedy at law is not adequate. Protection of Plaintiffs' rights must include an injunction.

Prayer for Relief

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for judgment against Defendants, and each of them, jointly and severally, as follows:

1. For a grant of preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against the Defendants, their agents, servants, employees, and all other persons in active concert or privity or in participation with them, enjoining them from:

(a) posting on any Internet website, linking to, or in any other way manufacturing, importing, offering to the public, providing, or otherwise trafficking in DeCSS, and [emphasis by Cryptome]

(b) posting on any Internet website, linking to, or in any other way manufacturing, importing, offering to the public, providing, or otherwise trafficking in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that: [emphasis by Cryptome]

(i) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing, or circumventing the protection afforded by, CSS, or any other technological measure adopted by Plaintiffs that effectively controls access to Plaintiffs' copyrighted works or effectively protects the Plaintiffs' rights to control whether an end user can reproduce, manufacture, adapt, publicly perform and/or distribute unauthorized copies of their copyrighted works or portions thereof,

(ii) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent, or to circumvent the protection afforded by, CSS, or any other technological measure adopted by the Plaintiffs' that effectively controls access to Plaintiffs' copyrighted works or effectively protects the Plaintiffs' rights to control whether an end user can reproduce, manufacture, adapt, publicly perform and/or distribute unauthorized copies of their copyrighted works or portions thereof, or

(iii) is marketed by Defendants and/or others acting in concert with them with the knowledge of its use in circumventing, or circumventing the protection afforded by, CSS, or any other technological measure adopted by Plaintiffs that effectively controls access to Plaintiffs' copyrighted works or effectively protects the Plaintiffs' rights to control whether an end user can reproduce, manufacture, adapt, publicly perform and/or distribute unauthorized copies of their copyrighted works or portions thereof, and

For such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

January 26, 2000

[Excerpt from preliminary injunction of January 20, 2000 provided for comparison:]

ORDERED, as follows:

1. Plaintiffs' motion is granted.

2. Defendants Shawn C. Reimerdes, Eric Corley a/k/a "Emmanuel Goldstein" and Roman Kazan, their officers, agents, servants, employees and attorneys and all persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this order by personal service or otherwise be and they hereby are enjoined and restrained, pending the hearing and final determination of this action from:

(a) posting on any Internet web site, or in any other way manufacturing, importing or offering to the public, providing, or otherwise trafficking in DeCSS, and

(b) posting on any Internet web site, or in any other way manufacturing, importing or offering to the public, providing, or otherwise trafficking in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that:

(i) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing, or circumvention the protection afforded by, CSS, or any other technological measure adopted by plaintiffs that effectively controls access to plaintiffs' copyrighted works or effectively protects the plaintiffs' rights to control whether an end user can reproduce, manufacture, adapt, publicly perform and/or distribute unauthorized copies of their copyrighted works or portions thereof;

(ii) has only limited commercially significant purposes or use other than to circumvent, or to circumvent the protection afforded by, CSS, or any other technological measure adopted by plaintiffs that effectively controls access to plaintiffs' copyrighted works or effectively protects the plaintiffs' rights to control whether an end user can reproduce, manufacture, adapt, publicly perform and/or distribute unauthorized copies of their copyrighted works or portions thereof; or

(iii) is marketed by defendants and/or others acting in concert with them with the knowledge of its use in circumventing, or in circumventing the protection afforded by, CSS, or any other technological measure adopted by plaintiffs that effectively controls access to the plaintiffs' copyrighted works or effectively protects the plaintiffs' rights to control whether an end user can reproduce, manufacture, adapt, publicly perform and/or distribute unauthorized copies of their copyrighted works or portions thereof.

Transcription and HTML by Cryptome.