The trade group for the U.S. movie industry said on Tuesday it has settled lawsuits against a company that made software to copy DVDs and CDs, and which has recently gone out of business.

The Motion Picture Association of America said the founders of 321 Studios would make "a substantial financial payment" to the studios in addition to an agreement to stop selling its software worldwide.

The payment will be earmarked for the movie industry's ongoing anti-piracy program, the MPAA said.

Two weeks ago, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, sought by three major video game publishers, to block the sale of 321's "Games X Copy" program. It was one of a number of injunctions the privately held, St. Louis-based company was subject to at the time it ceased operations.

Initially, 321 sued the studios in early 2002, seeking a determination that its DVD-copying software was legal. The studios later counter-sued. Tuesday's settlement closes cases in California, New York and Great Britain.

From Reuters