Sony BMG tries to climb down
p2p news / p2pnet: Besides giving refunds for DRM-infected CD’s, Sony-BMG will also give consumers a new unprotected CD in return, says Reuters. “Music CDs with the copy-protection software can be identified by a web address containing the letters XCP printed on the back of the box.”
More than 4 million CD’s have been recalled from store shelves so far.
Consumers will also be given free mp3’s of the tracks while the CD exchange/refund is being processed. Punters can go to this web site for more details on the exchange program. They will also receive an email containing a URL where they could download the music tracks as unprotected MP3 files.
For those unaware or confused, at least 52 Sony-BMG audio CD’s included the “copy protection software” XCP, developed by the UK’s First4Internet, which embeds itself deep into a computer’s system – just like a virus – leaving a backdoor open for hackers.
For all intents and purposes, it is a virus and spyware, and restricts fair use of a legally purchased product. And besides that, it’s just plain wrong.
Sony-BMG will “…do anything possible [to] make amends with its customers who were outraged when the first viruses were discovered”, according to the Reuters report. (Uh-huh.)
As well as trying to repair the problem by offering patches and fixes which didn’t work and which caused more problems, XCP contains stolen LAME coding, clearly breaching international copyright laws.
First4Internet has refused repeated requests for comments.
And Sony-BMG still believes that DRM is a good thing, re-emphasising “that copy-protection software is "an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists.”
That’s not true. Sony is continually being successfully sued by their “artists” for unpaid (read “stolen”) royalties.
And they obviously don’t care about the consumers, either.
catflap – p2pnet
Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local political representatives. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance.
Also read:-
Reuters – Sony BMG offers MP3 files and disks for unsafe CDs, November 18, 2005
November 20th, 2005 at 2:27 pm
according to Sony BMG, the exchange program is only valid for USA customers who can provide a shipping address in the USA.
when the offer becomes available in other countries, we’ll let you know.
November 20th, 2005 at 3:28 pm
This is what I’d really like to see. Anyone who has spent money to have the rootkit removed, spent money getting rid of virus infections caused by rootkit, lost productive time while dealing with this rootkit, or lost valueable data because of this rootkit suing Sony for damages in small claims court. Sony will then either be forced to pay up (expensive), travel to show up for court (expensive), or ignore the adverse judgement of the court (very bad for business!!!). Anyway, if enough victims decide to do this Sony will be forced into bankrupcy or will have to make some other type of deal. It will also show the rest of the cartel that punters are no longer willing to just roll over and take it up the …! It will be like a swarm of worker bees attacking; one can be swatted, but what about the rest?
November 20th, 2005 at 4:22 pm
a class action suit was filed against them in california.
there will probably be more.
November 20th, 2005 at 5:43 pm
yes, but isn’t it more expensive to respond to hundreds of individual lawsuits then to respond to one class action suit representing hundreds of people?
November 20th, 2005 at 6:02 pm
thats true but keep in mind alot of people cant afford to do these small lawsuits on there own. Now if the EFF were to get in on this and help fund there lawsuits by say, providing lawers then i could see this going somewhere but untill there is an organized effort of independent lawsuits, it will not work
November 20th, 2005 at 6:45 pm
catflap is a man…and maybe a shill
November 20th, 2005 at 7:30 pm
who says i’m a man?
and a shill for whom?
this article isn’t about me. comments like yours are a waste.
November 20th, 2005 at 7:56 pm
please can you validate my comment further by replying to it again?
November 20th, 2005 at 8:24 pm
Yes, it is more expensive. However, if there is a class action suit pending on the same issue, the defendant (SONY-BMG) can move for blanket dismissal of all small claims actions and have them remanded for consolidation into the class action suit.
November 20th, 2005 at 8:52 pm
It is obvious who is the shill here catflap, it isn’t you and it isn’t I. So who does that leave? Oh, I forgot, the shill will have to take his gloves off to figure that one out. We’ll have to wait a bit for that to be done. It is most apparent where the intelligence factor is off at.
November 20th, 2005 at 10:19 pm
I think it’s funny. you can tell when the industry gets worried. their transparent cloak of respectibility comes off and they start flaming news threads. Keep it up Catflap you’re obviously touching a nerve.
November 20th, 2005 at 10:29 pm
Then let’s make them do a lot of moving. They will have to repond to each suit. In my area, it costs 50 bucks to file a small claim case.
November 20th, 2005 at 11:05 pm
a class action suit in every US state and territory, as well as every other state and territory in every other country would be a good thing to do.
November 20th, 2005 at 11:06 pm
“And Sony-BMG still believes that DRM is a good thing, re-emphasising âthat copy-protection software is “an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists.â ”
This is real funny, coming from a company that my family has sued (in 2001) for making over 16 records with songs composed by my late father and now owned by my family. Just one of these records sold over 5 million copies.
Even though Sony knows that the records were infringing our rights, they continue to make and sell them. They think that that is all right to continue the infringement because they are putting the royalties in court (a condition we have not accepted).
Surely Sony has magical powers in the U.S.A federalc court system. How else can any one escape an obvious massive infringemetn in court and get a 5 plus year deay in court?
No wonder Sony has the audacity of selling DRM-infected CDâs.
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com
November 20th, 2005 at 11:17 pm
“our intellectual property rights and those of our artists.”
The rights all belong to Sony BMG, right? So the artists don’t have rights, do they, because they all get transfered to Sony when the artist signs the contract, right?
The sort of information they try to bury using statements such as I’ve quoted above.
Shame they can’t be gotten for deceptive practices.
November 21st, 2005 at 1:03 am
Doesn’t “our artists” means that the artists are owned by and belong to Sony? The answer is yes. The artists have sold themselves for the money that very few artists get.
November 21st, 2005 at 6:54 am
Leykis 101 is all we need.
Blow me up Tom
November 21st, 2005 at 10:10 am
In small claims, you represent yourself, no lawyers invloved. The filing is what, $80 or so? Besides, if they don’t show up in court, and you can prove that you served them, then the judge will usually rule for the side that did show up.
What I would do is after obtaining a judgement, sell it to the meanest, lowest, dirtyest, and most dispicable collection agency that I can find.
November 21st, 2005 at 10:16 am
Actually, you cannot blame Sony for the stolen code. That was not their fault. It was First 4 Internet who stole the code and incorporated it into their product.
That’s just like saying that Microsoft stole code from Sun, and Sun goes out to sue all of Microsoft’s users, who have no control over what Microsoft does, because of it.
November 21st, 2005 at 1:17 pm
i never said that Sony was to blame for the stolen code. i made it clear which company developed XCP so anyone (except perhaps you) would understand who is to blame for that…
…actually.
November 21st, 2005 at 1:43 pm
Too true catflap.
The lackeys are really out in force , aren’t they ?
Someone must be getting a little .. nervous.
Dreddsnik
Boycott-RIAA.com
November 21st, 2005 at 2:34 pm
“Actually, you cannot blame Sony for the stolen code.”
Actually that would depend on Sony’s posiyion on copyrights and patents for software. Anyone that defends the concept of software copyrights and patents and then become entramped by the very idea they defend they should be critized (a cousin of blaming) for their stupidity.
BTW. prior to my lawsuit against Sony, a Sony rep said to me that if Sony used our songs without a valid license from us song owners, it was the fault of others. To this day Sony continues to infringe the very same songs Sony was infringing back then. We sued Sony in 2001. Details here:
http://rafa_venegas.web.prdigital.com/venegas_v_sony_lawsuit.htm
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com
November 22nd, 2005 at 2:28 pm
My response was a generalization to other responses here. I know it was in your article, and I was pointing out the obvious.
November 23rd, 2005 at 2:47 pm
“catflap is a man…and maybe a shill ”
A Maaaaaaaaan !!!! OMFG Noooooooooooooooo !!!
not a MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN !!!!!!!!