So, Sony/BMG released some audio CDs with a new DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) system to prevent their copy. The problem is that this DRM system comes in the form of a rootkit (a piece of software that is used to take control of a computer, that is: a pirate tool), and this has been widely published even in mainstream press. Blackhats (pirates) already started exploiting this rootkit. After this fiasco, Sony/BMG put a tool online to allow uninstalling the rootkit, but, bad luck! it comes with worse problems putting Windows users at risk when they simply surf on the web.
Microsoft reacted by stating that they will update their anti-spyware tool to uninstall the rootkit. Interestingly, this is circumventing a copy-protection measure, also known as a DMCA violation. Will Sony/BMG dare to sue Microsoft on this ground?
One last thing, this DRM system includes parts of LAME, a free (as in freedom) mp3 encoder which is licensed under the LGPL. Of course, they don’t offer to download the source code as the license requires them to do. Will the LAME developers dare, as copyrights holders, to sue Sony/BMG?
Or will they just shut up, as the MP3 algorithm they use is patented, to avoid drawing attention to them and risk getting sued by Fraunhofer and THOMSON, the MP3 patent holders ?
Couldn’t someone different from Sony (maybe the EFF) sue Microsoft just to show the problem with the DMCA, or must it be Sony? And 2nd, did Sony link to some LAME library? Then they don’t need to provide the source code of their root kit, but just the source code of the used library, do they?
Anyway, I think Sony gets more and more « evil ». ;-) Luckily I don’t have a problem with CDs of them (yet), as they don’t do such crap for Linux, but I already had to experience how they « support » MP3 on their flash players (by crippling them, so you can’t easily copy the MP3s any longer)!
fun story :)
sounds like « love boat » or some other soap opera.
seems to me that Microsoft could sue Sony – after all, they claim that they own all the copies of their software out there – we just get Licenses. That’s about half a million cases of willfully damaging private property (and while other people can make an IP case against this, Sony can’t :) ). Not to mention sales losses that Microsoft could feel because of this. I’ve posted as much on this at my blogspot.
seems to me that Microsoft could sue Sony – after all, they claim that they own all the copies of their software out there – we just get Licenses. That’s about half a million cases of willfully damaging private property (and while other people can make an IP case against this, Sony can’t :) ). Not to mention sales losses that Microsoft could feel because of this. I’ve posted as much on this at my blogspot.
I saw that you have a page that discusses patent-related resources at http://www.colino.net/wordpress-1.5/archives/2005/11/16/the-miracles-of-intellectual-property/. I wanted to suggest adding http://www.freepatentsonline.com to the page. This web site has free PDF downloading (instead of having to page through TIFFs like at the US PTO). It is by far the best free patent searching site.