Warner Bros. sues “HD Fury” over boxes that can copy 4k video

There are several devices sold under the "HD Fury" brand. But lawyers working for Warner Bros. and Digital Copy Protection say that only this device, the "Integral 4K60 4:4:4 600MHz," can break the HDCP 2.2 copy protection that protects 4k video. (credit: HD Fury)

The device shown above is a $199 video peripheral that Warner Brothers doesn't think should have been in anyone's Christmas stocking. Until just hours ago, it was available for online purchase.

The devices, sold by an organization called HD Fury, allowed HD video to be moved around and displayed on devices that wouldn't normally be equipped to handle the content. To do that, the devices stripped out the entertainment industry's copy protection, called HDCP. The "HD Fury Integral," pictured above, was able to strip out even the newest version, HDCP 2.2, which protects Ultra HD or "4K" video content.

Stripping out that copy protection is a brazen violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, according to lawyers for Warner Brothers and Digital Content Protection (DCP), the company that licenses HDCP. Warner and DCP filed a lawsuit (PDF) on December 31 against LegendSky, the owner of HD Fury. The plaintiffs' lawyers say LegendSky is "a business or an individual located in China."

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