Shop a pirate for $10,000

A maker of DVD-copying software is offering bounties of $10,000 (£6,300) for tips about people using the product to pirate movies.

But so far the company, 321 Studios, has had no tip-offs as a result.

321 Software is currently fighting a legal battle with Hollywood over its DVD-burning software, DVD X Copy, which the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) claims is a piracy tool.

Robert Moore, founder and president of 321 Software, said the anti-piracy bounty was his company's response to the MPAA's claims.

DVD X Copy enables users to burn a DVD to a blank CD or DVD by defeating the copy-protections encoded onto the original movie disc.

The software injects electronic barriers into the copies it makes to stop them being duplicated again. It also inserts digital watermarks and identifying information that can trace the source of any file transmitted over the internet.

Film studios have asked a California court to stop 321 from selling or distributing the software further. The next court hearing is set for 25 April.