MESSAGE
| DATE | 2006-01-02 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Limits to Copyright enforcement
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BBC NEWS
Sony to settle anti-piracy CD row
Free music downloads and cash refunds could soon be offered to owners of
Sony BMG CDs loaded with controversial anti-piracy software.
The offers are part of a proposed settlement of lawsuits against Sony
BMG over the use of software aimed at thwarting illegal copying of CDs.
The programs used left consumers open to attack from viruses that
hijacked the music maker's software.
The proposed deal also forces Sony to stop using the controversial
software.
Legal trouble
The row about the software Sony BMG used to try to stop illegal copying
of its CDs blew up in October when programmer Mark Russinovich noticed
his PC had been infected by a type of malicious program known as a
"rootkit".
He found that the rootkit came from XCP anti-piracy software on a Sony
BMG CD. It also left his machine open to exploit by malicious
programmers and computer virus writers.
He publicised his findings and it soon turned into a PR disaster for the
music maker. Sony eventually recalled all CDs using XCP and offered
refunds to consumers.
Other researchers found separately that the MediaMax anti-piracy
software used by Sony BMG on other CDs also left consumers' PCs open to
a variety of security problems.
In all, millions of CDs are thought to have been sold that use the
controversial programs. Sony BMG has released a list of the 52 discs
that use XCP and the 34 that used MediaMax. All the affected CDs were
only sold in North America.
The publicity about the anti-piracy programs prompted class action
lawsuits from aggrieved consumers.
Now a month of negotiation between Sony BMG and lawyers representing all
the consumers that filed cases has resulted in the proposed settlement.
The document outlining the deal is due to be approved by a US judge on 6
January, but few expect it to be rejected.
Owners of a CD with the XCP program are being offered a replacement disc
free of anti-piracy software, $7.50 in cash and a free download of a
Sony BMG album from an online music service. Consumers can forgo the
cash and get three album downloads instead.
Those owning CDs that use MediaMax only get downloads rather than cash.
Significantly the deal also includes Apple's iTunes music store as
previously Sony offered little help for consumers that wanted to put
copy-protected music in their iPod.
Consumers that bought CDs using early versions of the anti-piracy
programs only get replacement discs.
Independent audits
The deal also means Sony BMG must abandon use of the XCP and MediaMax
programs and provide tools that help people clean the software from
their PCs.
It must also fix any new vulnerabilities the programs are found to
create or which are created by any anti-piracy system it adopts in the
future.
Sony BMG must also change the way that it tries to protect music on
discs and in the future must clearly label and test its anti-piracy
systems. The methods it wants to adopt must also be independently
audited.
The music maker offered no comment on the news of the settlement.
The deal does not end all the legal action started by the controversy. A
lawsuit started by Texas attorney general Greg Abbott which charges Sony
BMG with violating the state's spyware and anti-deceptive practices law
is still outstanding.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/4568670.stm
Published: 2005/12/30 11:21:05 GMT
© BBC MMVI
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