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New Sony Litigation Page
Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 02:11 AM EST

I've quickly put together a permanent page on the Sony litigation, which you can access by a link on the list on the left, "Sony". If you know of information that should be added, or see a better way to arrange the material, please let me know. The story is obviously getting more and more complex, and it's not going away, so a permanent page seems appropriate.

I've also set up a new category, so you can always find all the articles on Sony. Our topics are now:

SCO
Microsoft
Patents
News Stories
Daemon
AntiFUD
INFO
Standards
Sony

These are now the categories of stories Groklaw regularly covers. For Groklaw members, that means you can go to your account preferences and choose to exclude any category you don't want to read, and obviously that means by narrowing it down to one category, you can find all stories on a particular topic. Of course, that depends on me to remember to always set the topic for each article, and you know me by now. On a crazy news day like today, sometimes I forget. But I try. For the public, the permanent Sony page provides another option.


  


New Sony Litigation Page | 229 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Corrections here
Authored by: Mike Steele on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 02:50 AM EST
Sorry ... nothing funny to say

---
Mikey

[ Reply to This | # ]

Off-Topic here
Authored by: Mike Steele on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 02:51 AM EST
Still nothing funny to say ... uninspired.

---
Mikey

[ Reply to This | # ]

New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 03:39 AM EST
Great idea!

It just may be that the Sony rootkit will be central in drawing the line between
protection of corporate IP and protection of private property, exemplified by
our computers in our homes.

[ Reply to This | # ]

The State of Texas v. Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 04:30 AM EST
As a Limey there is something here that I do not understand. Sony is being sued
for breaking Texan law. Are US States allowed to make laws affecting inter-state
trade? It seems as if any little State could make up some arbitary law with some
huge penalty just to raise money or to protect its own industry. Could Sony be
sued 50 times under 50 different State laws for the same offence?

Next question? The case would seem to be a criminal one (State v Sony) but the
State appears to be asking for damages. What I find strange is that the State is
claiming the damages for itself yet it is not the State that has suffered
injury.

Alan(UK)

[ Reply to This | # ]

New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 05:06 AM EST
<2cents>
I support the idea of a separate page dealing with Sony and their nefarious
attempts with DRM. My concern is that there may be other companies with similar
attempts that haven't been discovered yet. This category should maybe be renamed
to include all "illegitimate" attempts at enforcing copyright. Maybe
name it DRM?
</2cents>

Don Kauffman

[ Reply to This | # ]

New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: belzecue on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 05:16 AM EST
I use the 'groklaw' theme where the menu list is at top of screen. It's now
grown to encompass 24 headings. Soon we'll need an index for the index, LOL!

[ Reply to This | # ]

Sony Share Price
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 06:12 AM EST
In the past few months, Sony shares have been diving but just recently they have
started a big upturn (on NYSE at any rate). I just don't get it... how can
recent news be regarded as a good thing for Sony under any circumstances (even
if they WIN) ?

Very peculiar behaviour if you ask me, can anyone explain it?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Thanks PJ
Authored by: The Mad Hatter r on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 06:59 AM EST


Very nice of you to take on the extra work!

I think that the Sony DRM issue could be one of the defining issues of the first
decade of the 21st century, and that the fallout will change the world - now
it's a questions of waiting to see whether the effects are good or bad.


---
Wayne

http://urbanterrorist.blogspot.com/

[ Reply to This | # ]

Where's the PJ category?
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 07:48 AM EST
Don't be shy, PJ.
You deserve it.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Sony DRM Investigations
Authored by: feldegast on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 07:51 AM EST
Just incase this hasn't been mentioned yet, yje following link contains information with regard to which files alegedly infring within the Sony DRM and other relevent information
http://hack.fi/~muzzy/sony-drm/

---
IANAL
The above post is (C)Copyright 2005 and released under the Creative Commons License Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0
P.J. has permission for commercial use

[ Reply to This | # ]

Sony Page
Authored by: kberrien on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 08:23 AM EST
This is a good idea. It doesn't look as if this will all go away (unless they
mass settle). Hopefully this will be a lardmark case for the industry, as well
as a warning to spyware vendors, etc.

Hopefully in the end, it will be apparent who has the right to control their
computer, and how much it will cost you (in dollars and customers) if you
trample on those rights.

[ Reply to This | # ]

BBC
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 09:01 AM EST
LATEST: Sony is sued in the US over its much-criticised anti-piracy CD software.

How many people know what a rootkit is who didn't know a week ago?

Alan(UK)

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • BBC - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 10:23 AM EST
    • BBC - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 07:27 PM EST
      • BBC - Authored by: John Hasler on Wednesday, November 23 2005 @ 11:50 AM EST
  • BBC - Authored by: John Hasler on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 01:49 PM EST
New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 10:11 AM EST
If Sony don't have enough cash to settle (or enough
employees to go round fixing everyone's computers), is the
logical consequence that all of Sony's stock gets taken
away from its current owners and given equally to all
purchasers of this CD ? Then owners of the broken PCs can
all have an equal vote in how Sony should be run from here
on in. It's Limited Liability, you can't do any worse to
the shareholders than set the value of their investment to
zero.
The world wants Playstations (I think), so that show has
to go on.
Or what ?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Random musings...
Authored by: Jude on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 10:50 AM EST
FWIW, I can't help but think that Sony would be having far less difficulty with
this episode if it hadn't been for the RIAA goon squad suing grandmothers and
12-year-old children. In my experience, those who give no mercy have trouble
when they need a little themselves.

[ Reply to This | # ]

New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: pfusco on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 10:59 AM EST
I "still" wanna know why the DOJ hasnt done a darned thing yet.

---
only the soul matters in the end

[ Reply to This | # ]

This may hurt Sony beyond the lawsuit
Authored by: AlanF on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 11:57 AM EST
I am not much of a music fan (beyond certain niche groups like
the Austin Lounge Lizards), so I have never bought a Sony CD.
However, Sony has always been at the top of my "buy" list for
audio & video equipment. I also take a long time to research
my purchases, visiting the Sony store near me several times to
make sure I'm getting exactly the right equipment for me.

For this holiday season, I was planning to purchase a new
camcorder and large-screen TV. These would be closely
followed by a new Vaio laptop. The only question was,
which Sony models to get.

Now, I am starting my research all over again, with Sony out
of the running. I will not buy any product from a company
that treats its customers like this. I am especially
offended by the weasel words in their press releases and web
pages. I'm an old fart and believe in old-fashioned values.
Sony apparently does not have them.

[ Reply to This | # ]

I'm sorry to see that you are still at it, PJ
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 12:10 PM EST

On the Sony page, "Russinovich wrote a book for Microsoft" is not anything like a reasonable title/summary of the article that it points to, just as "rises from the swamp" was not anything like a reasonable title summary of the talk that he gave two years ago.

Get over it PJ. Mark is a pretty darn good guy.

[ Reply to This | # ]

New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: joef on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 01:24 PM EST
The Texas complaint names the defendant as "SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT,
LLC". From another post I understand that this is a 50-50 venture of Sony
and BMG. the German-based music empire. What state is the jurisdiction of SONY
BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, LLC? And does this LLC status shield the parents from
liability?

Everyone seems to focus their ire on Sony in this debacle, but I personally
believe the BMG music enterprise side of the venture is more likely to have
supplied the executive personnel who were responsible for this mess. There's
probably plenty of blame to go around; I want to make sure BMG gets its share!

[ Reply to This | # ]

About MediaMax from Ed Foster...
Authored by: utahbob55 on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 01:40 PM EST

"[B]efore users can even say yes or no to accepting the Sony EULA, MediaMax has already installed a dozen files on their hard drive and started running the copy protection code. The files remain even if the user rejects the EULA, and the Sony CDs provide no option for uninstalling the files at a later date."

Full Article

I recommend reading the full article because it talks about Sony's pattern of DRM and EULA abuse. An excellent read.

Bob

[ Reply to This | # ]

Dawn of a new age...
Authored by: Winter on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 02:04 PM EST
Actually, we are well into daylight, but still.

What is happening in these DRM/Copyright, piracy etc bussiness is an extension
of what happens to all industry. The money is just in the service (or design),
not in the hardware.

ESR wrote before that the software industry is a service industry. Software
writers make a living just like doctors and lawyers by doing work for customers.
They are well off, but they do not become filthy rich.

The whole idea of "selling" software is a myth, as the money is made
with upgrades, which is a SERVICE. Copyrights are just a way to corner and
monopolize the service market.

The same is now being done to the music and film industry. A musician is an
artist that makes a living by performing live. This is clear for classical
music, but it holds for pop artists too.

This can be seen by the fact that 99.99% of all musicians only earn money on
their live performances. The money from the records goes to the
distributer/label wholesale. The majority of the record contracts are used to
PREVENT artists from distributing or performing. These contracts are shelved,
but bind the artists and prevent them from competing.

Book publishing is different from on-line or even CD publishing. It cost much
more to print a book than to write it, whether you calculate in person years or
dollars. However, it is rather cheap to print CD's. Still the CD's cost more
than the artists. In on-line publishing, it is the artist that becomes the most
expensive part. This would shift the power and the procedings to the artists.

However, the labels have fought hard to prevent this power shift and have
wrought all the copyrights away from the artists. They controll all distribution
channels to isolate the artist from the public. And they are willing to destroy
the internet AND the computer industry to prevent the artists from reaching an
audience. Sony BMG actually said so in 98/99 (I forgot).

So, going after the consumers and legitimate internet distribution and the
musicians alike is really rational behavior. The labels will lose if they lose
their control over distribution.

Rob

---
"news is what someone, somewhere, wants to
suppress; everything else is advertising" Anonymous Journalist

[ Reply to This | # ]

Do not fight for punishment, fight for improvements
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 02:57 PM EST
I'm not a fan of Sony but fighting too much against Sony DRM stupid mistake can have an unwanted backfire.
I read an article about XBox launch and in the end was an interesting quote

... and Microsoft enters not only the holiday season but the coming year with the bases loaded (something about nice games and user friendly) . These facts, coupled with Sony's fighting off an image problem in the wake of its namesake music publisher being associated recently with mass-distributed malware, could very well promote Xbox 360 to the prominent position among consumer game systems, making it the envy not only of every PC owner but every PC manufacturer. It's not exactly a likelihood or a probability. But this scenario may very well have just emerged from the realm of fantasy.

So in the long run we are ending in the living room with a DRM from Microsoft or one from Sony (which one do you trust more?). Let's hope that Sony learns the lesson and make the PS3 more user "not guilty assumption" friendly.

[ Reply to This | # ]

You know you're in trouble...
Authored by: pooky on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 04:34 PM EST
...when your company name appears in the Groklaw topics list. You have to wonder
that with all the public scrutiny SCOX gets as a result of Groklaw's work, if
having your case tracked by Groklaw is itself an incentive to settle the
lawsuit, lest all your dirty laundry be scrutinized by the world.

If Sony was *smart*, they would issue a formal public apology, recall everything
(which they have done), rebate everyone who bought a CD with a full refund &
a clean copy of what they bought (meaning no DRM), and pay for cleaning up
infected systems.

This strategy (not verbatim mind you) worked for Tylenol. There's nothing like
public angst/fear of your product to sink your profits quickly, win or lose in
the courtroom.

-pooky

---
Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Sony Litigation - also Open Source licensing breach?
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 05:20 PM EST
See the Cnet article:

http://news.com.com/Did+Sony+rootkit+pluck+from+open+source/2100-1027_3-5960222.
html

<snip>
[The Sony] music player contains components from an open-source project, an MP3
player called LAME, it has emerged.
...
There was LAME and other LGPL code in the program, and significant amounts were
tightly integrated into the executable program, Saber Security said.
...
Developers on Slashdot.org and other Internet bulletin boards could not find an
open-source reference in the copy-protection software.
<snip>

As Sony plays the 'protecting the artist's rights' card, it appears a bit
hypocritical if it is breaching developers rights...

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • 404 - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 07:16 PM EST
    • nevermind - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 07:19 PM EST
New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 06:19 PM EST
States in the US have their own military forces including Navies. Think of Texas
as falling somewhare between the Isle of Mann and Germany as far as legal
status.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Sony Risk migigation plan...revealed: www.opensecrets.org New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: tce on Tuesday, November 22 2005 @ 07:53 PM EST
www.opensecrets.org

search 2004 & 2006 by donor, where donor's employer = Sony

[ Reply to This | # ]

New Sony Litigation Page
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, November 23 2005 @ 01:35 AM EST
Doesn't MS EULA state that third parties may install software
on the users PC?

[ Reply to This | # ]

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