realnetworks

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel has issued a permanent injunction that bars RealNetworks from selling RealDVD, the DVD-copying software that Hollywood claimed in a lawsuit violated copyright law.

Real and the Motion Picture Association of America reached a settlement, according to statements issued by both companies, that called for Real to stop selling RealDVD or any similar products and to pay $4.5 million to reimburse the studios for legal fees.

"We are gratified by the successful conclusion of this important matter," said Daniel Mandil, the MPAA's general counsel. "Judge Patel's rulings and … Read more

RealNetworks and Viacom plan to spin off the Rhapsody subscription music service, the companies announced Tuesday.

Rhapsody, which has struggled for years to grow its subscriber base, was operated by a joint venture formed by Real and Viacom, parent company of MTV Networks.

At the same time, Real has decided to give up a controlling interest in the music service. The company will no longer own a majority stake in the company and will hold slightly less than 49 percent of the company's shares. Viacom owns a similar amount.

Real agreed to contribute $18 million to the new company. … Read more

Billboard analyst Glenn Peoples predicts that RealNetworks will sell its 51 percent stake in music-streaming subscription service Rhapsody in 2010. My question: who'd buy it?

Rhapsody certainly appears to be a drag on RealNetworks' earnings. According to the company's financial filings for the third quarter of 2009, its music businesses--which include Rhapsody and sales of music through the RealPlayer store--posted an operating loss of $10 million. That's better than the $25 million operating loss in the same quarter of 2008, but the fundamentals aren't improving.

Subscriber numbers are down from about 800,000 at the beginning … Read more

Rob Glaser, the CEO of software company RealNetworks, has stepped down, according to a statement released by the company Wednesday.

"After nearly 16 years, I've decided it's time for me to step away from day-to-day operations," Glaser said in the statement.

Real said Glaser will remain at the company as chairman and appointed Robert Kimball as president and acting chief executive officer. The announcement comes a day after Real announced that John Giamatteo, the company's chief operating officer, had resigned.

Glaser jumped from Microsoft after spending 10 years working for CEO Bill Gates to form … Read more

RealNetworks has filed an appeal of a federal judge's decision to halt the sales of its DVD-copying software, RealDVD.

Real said in documents filed Monday night that San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel erred when she placed a preliminary injunction on the sales of RealDVD in August.

In a lawsuit filed last fall, the Motion Picture Association of America accused Real of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and breach of contract when Real began selling RealDVD.

Not surprisingly, Real claimed in the appeal that Patel applied an incorrect legal standard in granting a request by … Read more

The Seattle area is going to get another jobless jolt Thursday, with RealNetworks planning to lay off 4 percent of its workforce, sources said.

That's a small number--just about 70 people out of its 1,700-person staff--but the move comes on the heels of layoffs of another 800 employees at nearby Microsoft on Wednesday. The software giant has cut thousands of jobs over the last year, part of a move to eliminate 5,000 positions by mid-2010.

While the dismissals--which are likely to be announced to affected RealNetworks employees sometime Thursday morning by managers--will be global, both RealNetworks and … Read more

RealNetworks, a maker of media software, has said it will file an appeal and ask that a district court decision to ban sales of its DVD-copying software, RealDVD, be overturned.

In August, a federal district judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt sales of the $30 software, which enables users to create digital copies of DVDs and then store them on a hard drive. Real said in court documents that sometime before November 9, the Seattle-based company will file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The film studios claimed in a 2008 lawsuit … Read more

In some ways RealNetwork's Rhapsody service competes with Apple's iTunes, but Apple has approved the music streaming app for use on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The app is free, but users will pay $14.99 a month for the service after a free seven day trial.

Real Vice President Bill Hankes described the service and said that, even though it competes with Apple to some extent, the two companies were able to reach what he considers to be a mutually beneficial agreement.

In some ways RealNetwork's Rhapsody service competes with Apple's iTunes, but Apple has approved the music streaming app for use on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The app is free, but users will pay $14.99 a month for the service after a free seven day trial.

Real Vice President Bill Hankes described the service and said that, even though it competes with Apple to some extent, the two companies were able to reach what he considers to be a mutually beneficial agreement.