Elaborate Bytes has (unofficially) announced that they will not be releasing a new CloneCD version because the German copyright laws have become too strict. This is a big disappointment for a lot of people since, as most of our visitors will know, CloneCD was one of the first software tools available with which you could back-up copy-protected discs.
A lot of new versions were released throughout the years until suddenly last year development of CloneCD seemed to have stopped. Most of our visitors believed this was due to the company working on their new CloneDVD software but as it turns out, the German copyright laws have forced Elby to stop development:
"Thank you for your inquiry. From August 2003 our program will be illegal in Germany due to new copyrigh tlaws.Other european countries will follow... thus we are forced to discontinue the developement of our software. Otherwise we could be sentenced up to three years in prison.
CloneCD 4.2.0.2. will be the last version of this copy software. We"re sorry, but we have no other choice. Our company has moved to Switzerland, but we don"t know by now whether we will be safe from organizations like RIAA, MPAA, GEMA (Germany) there, thus we prefer to work on other software that is not forbidden. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance."
Sincerely,
Your Elaborate Bytes Team
Very sad news for people who were hoping for a new CloneCD version.. Let's hope CloneDVD will become as big as CloneCD someday!
Edit: Some information regarding other software packages removed by request of Elby.
Edit2: We have asked the marketing department of Elaborate Bytes for an official statement. You can read it below:
"The last statement was not an official statement from Elaborate Bytes! We never judge about the legality or illegality of other companies' products. Another thing: As far as we are informed, the highest punishement for companies who sell software to circumvent copyright protections is one year in jail. The punishement of three years is for the people who really crack the software, the movies etc. and then sell it.
Concerning CloneCD: We never said that there will be no update anymore. It's right that CloneDVD took a lot of time and ressources, but: We do not give up CloneCD! Let us breathe a little bit after the release of CloneDVD, let the new Copyright law come into force and then we'll see how to proceed."
All seems to be based on a miscommunication between de support department and the development office. Elby has outsourced its support for CloneCD to Element 5, one of the internets largest software seller.
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Source:
CDFreaks
