Originally published February 15 2006
Sony's anti-piracy software controversy may have set important legal standards for copy protection
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
For Canada.com, Michael Geist looks at the legal precedent set by the case surrounding the Sony Rootkit controversy.
The Sony Rootkit controversy, in which the world's second largest record label rendered hundreds of thousands of personal computers vulnerable to hacker attack by inserting faulty copy-protection software into dozens of CDs, stands as one of 2005's leading technology law blunders.
Sony faced an immediate onslaught of bad publicity as thousands of consumers awoke to the negative effects of copy-protection technologies, also known as technological protection measures (TPMs).
Last week, Sony took a major step toward putting the rootkit fiasco behind it by reaching a tentative settlement that will quickly end most of the U.S. lawsuits.
It compensates most purchasers with a copy-protection free replacement CD as well as the choice of either $7.50 U.S. plus one free album download or three free album downloads.
The most notable feature of this portion of the settlement is that Sony will undertake to provide the free downloads from at least three music download services including rival Apple iTunes.
This aspect of the settlement is laced with irony since one of Sony's prime reasons for using the copy-protection software was to preclude its customers from copying the songs into MP3 format for playback on Apple iPods (the CDs could be easily copied into a format compatible with Sony digital audio players).
These limitations, which run until 2008, focus on improved disclosure requirements, security precautions, and privacy safeguards.
The disclosure requirements include a commitment to fully inform purchasers on its outer packaging when a CD contains copy-protection software, to ensure that its license agreements, which must be pre-approved by an independent oversight party, accurately disclose in plain language the nature and function of the copy-protection software and to promptly reveal any updates or changes to the copy-protection software.
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