Yesterday's ruling against Real Networks has revealed some strange holes in the US copyright system.

District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled in favor of the movie studios in granting a preliminary injunction against RealDVD, declaring that the technology would allow consumers renting and buying DVDs to violate copyright laws.

She admitted that a consumer has a right to make a backup copy of a DVD for their own personal use. However federal law makes it illegal to manufacture or traffic in a device or tool that permits a consumer to make such copies.

So in other words you have a right to copy your DVD but no one is allowed to make a machine or software to let you do it. The way the law stands it can be your right to drive a car but anyone who makes you a car could go to prison.

Of course if applied literally this would ban the sales of all DVD drives on your computer because these have the potential to be used to copy. But since when has common sense applied to copyright law?