Posted on 11/10/2005 10:38:37 AM PST by ShadowAce
Sony BMG is facing a class action suit from Californian consumers who claim the music giant's rootkit DRM technology damaged their computers and breaks three separate Californian laws.
The suit asks the court to stop Sony selling any more CDs containing the rootkit and seeks compensation for damage already done. Some Sony audio CDs include software which will secretly load itself if the CD is played on a computer. The suit was filed 1 November in the Los Angeles Superior Court by attorney Alan Himmelfarb, according to Reuters.
A second case has been started in New York on behalf of anyone who's bought one of the CDs.
Sony is also facing possible action from the Electronic Frontier Foundation in Italy - the lobby group has filed papers with the Italian authorities alleging Sony is guilty of "illicit acts".
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has also examined Sony's End User License Agreement which consumers now agree to when buying Sony CDs. Aside from letting Sony install any software they like on your computer it also covers what you can do with stored copies of the CD.
Any copies of the CD kept on a laptop or other device must be deleted if the original CD is stolen or lost. They cannot be stored on your work computer only a "personal home computer system owned by you". If you move countries you must delete all songs covered by the license. If you file for bankrupcy you must delete all relevant files.
Any consumer who fails to keep up-to-date with the hidden software is in breach of the agreement.
In exchange for all this the license also limits Sony BMG's liability for any damages this might cause to just $5 per CD - or slightly less than you paid for it in the first place.
Read the whole critique here.
A spokesman for Sony BMG in the UK guided us in the direction of New York HQ because CDs sold in the UK do not contain the rootkit. Sony BMG New York were unable to provide comment by press time. ®
Sony BMG will be regretting this one for years, and the rest of the music industry should be taking notice. (Probably not, but they should.)
Here's hoping this insanity hasn't spread to Sony Computer Entertainment. The PS3 is too important to screw up.
Rootkit is Sony's Vioxx.
the MPAA and RIAA will just write some more campaign checks and get more laws to actually make this practice LEGAL. just watch.
And I bet Orrin Hatch will introduce the bill.
indeed. the Digital Millenium We Own Your Computer Act.
Nah--that's about the first trojan--this article is about the lawsuits starting to pop up.
The music industry essentially wants to make it illegal to place a CD or DVD you pay for, into a computer. and these trojans are the "penalty" you pay for violating that. that's going to be the basis for the new laws they seek.
Yeah, they're punishing the people who are actually buying their music..lol
Proof positive that Sony is trying to figure out some way to charge you over and over again for the privilege of continuing to own a copy of the CD. What other possible rationale could there be for such a clause?
my goof... was about to post a similar article from ENT News and got crossed up.
They really need to be put over a barrel for this crap.
I was pretty psyched up for the PS3, till I read Blue-Ray's security specs. I dont like the idea of the PS3 dialing up some unknown Sony server to authenticate (similar to DirectTV) movies/games. My money is on Xbox360.
If the GOP had any brains or balls, they'd be rolling back existing laws, since that is 1)the right thing to do in any case and 2)a bit of well-deserved payback to Hollyweird interests. It's simply incompetent to ignore such a confluence of good policy and good politics.
Hmm. Sitting on my desk, right above my monitor, is a music CD player. I cannot imagine why I'd put any music CD in my PC's drive.
I'm already actively making sure that those people who occasionally come to me for tech advise have been notified of the dangers of purchasing Sony/BMG disks for Christmas presents. Sony/BMG need to PAY for this through the nose. They need to take a massive PR hit, and I want people to get a bad taste in their mouth when they even think of buying a BMG disk.
Many people like to create mp3/ogg files for use on their personal music player.
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