321 Studios shuts down as lawsuits cripple business

American software firm 321 Studios, which was the creator of the DVDXCopy and GamesXCopy tools for duplicating copy-protected movies and games, has been forced to shut down following mounting legal pressure.

"Despite 321 Studios' best efforts to remain in business, injunctions entered against 321 Studios by three US federal courts earlier this year has resulted in 321 Studios no longer being able to continue operating the business," a statement on the company's website read.

Among the lawsuits brought against the company was one from major game publishers including Electronic Arts and Atari, who claimed that 321 Studios' products violated the Digital Millenium Copyright Act by helping customers to make copies of software.

321 has always claimed that its products are purely designed to allow consumers to exercise their right to make backup copies of software which they legitimately own - rights which are effectively ignored by most companies in favour of copy-protection systems that cripple the ability of consumers to make backups.

The death of the company comes as no surprised; back in June, founder and president Robert Moore warned that the company had been placed in "a situation where we have to consider whether we feel more responsible to customers to transition over to a tech support company to support customers and help them enjoy our products, process and send out rebates - or do we fight the legal battle."