Well, for my loyal two blog readers out there, we can now end our Sony Boycott. The
EFF and Sony have entered an agreement to be heard in federal court on the 6th of January. The text of the settlement can be found
here. Some key points:
- Sony will spot making CDs with XCP (aka the Rootkit) and also with MediaMax (MediaMax is on about 200,000 CD titles from Sony and installs it's software even if you click "I don't agree" to the EULA)
- Sony will recall all XCP CDs
- Sony will provide software to remove XCP and MediaMax from your computer
- Sony agrees to limits of it's copy protection software for the next two years, and will not collect information on it's customers without affirmative consent - law speak for "you have to ask first"
If you bought one of the XCP or MediaMax CDs you'll have some compensation headed your way. These include exchanging the XCP CDs for clear, DRM-free versions, getting to choose another CD from the Sony BMG catalog, and getting some free downloads on services like iTunes. Sony has released a
list of the 52 XCP CDs, a
partial list of MediaMax CDs is available, but as the settlement lists versions 5 and 3 of MediaMax, I don't think a complete list is available yet (that link only covers version 5). The settlement still allows room for additional lawsuits if the Sony DRM caused loss to your company or networks.
On a final note, I'd like to make a point of law and process. Several blogs and community sites are upset that Sony is "let off the hook" here, and the case will not be taken to court. They argue that this is a perfect chance to challenge the DMCA, the clauses in many EULAs, and burn one of the evil members of the RIAA by creating case law that would affect the other members. I don't disagree that this chance exists, I do however disagree it is the intended use of our judicial system. The civil courts are for resolving disputes between private sector entities; in this case Sony vs. People Who Bought Sony CDs. Once Sony agrees to provide reasonable compensation to those people, the case is over. As much as I'd like to see it happen, forcing all CDs to be released without DRM and having the DMCA thrown out is not a reasonable compensation for these CDs. The place for law reform is congress, which should take this Sony mess as a sign that they have work to do in the realm of DRM laws (my rants on congress are best saved for another post).
Posted By Mike On Saturday, December 31, 2005
Filed under politics sony |
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