Sony BMG suing creators of MediaMax DRM for $12M
It's been two years since Sony BMG got hit with a number of class action lawsuits for shipping CDs that stealthily installed malware DRM on Windows machines without user permission, and it looks like the company is trying to get back the $5.75M it lost replacing affected discs by suing Amergence, the developer of MediaMax, one of the two DRM systems Sony was using at the time. MediaMax is unrelated to XCP, the infamous "rootkit" DRM at the center of the controversy, but it also installed itself without permission and contained a major security hole, leading Sony to recall both XCP and MediaMax-protected CDs. For its part, Amergence (which used to be called SunnComm) claims that XCP was the real problem and that Sony BMG's demand for final authority over MediaMax's functional specifications insulate it from any liability -- arguments that don't seem like they'll cause any consternation for Sony's legal team.DIsclaimer: Although the author of this post is an attorney, it is not legal advice or analysis and should not be construed as such.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
engadget @ Jul 13th 2007 2:03PM
So who's going to sell DRM software to Sony now ?
Hopefully no one.
NHAnimator @ Jul 13th 2007 2:11PM
"DIsclaimer: Although the author of this post is an attorney, it is not legal advice or analysis and should not be construed as such."
Wow. Are we going to see this after every post now?
Nilay Patel @ Jul 13th 2007 2:17PM
After every post I write about legal issues, at least.
paloooz @ Jul 13th 2007 2:49PM
He has to put that there, or not post about legal issues at all.
Get over it.
Kleena @ Aug 3rd 2007 5:36AM
For example in Germany, he could have gotten into quite some problems if he hadn't stated that and some smartie lawyer had admonished (right expression?) him for that. It's not legal to offer legal advice without having a corresponding license in Germany (a law first introduced by the Nazis which, although nobody sees a need for it, has survived all the way till present day) and it can cost a few hundred €€€s if someone decides to earn a few bucks on you. That's how German legal system works.
So I figure there are other countries with similar issues as well :-)
dan @ Jul 13th 2007 2:46PM
HAHAHA!!! only an effin' lawyer would put a disclaimer like that on the bottom of a blog post!
man, those kids are PARANOID.
classic.
Andir3.0 @ Jul 13th 2007 3:02PM
Better safe than sorry...
silverblackvoid @ Jul 13th 2007 3:19PM
maybe i'm a moron but i dont get it???
Andir3.0 @ Jul 13th 2007 5:37PM
Sony BMG paid a company to create a copy protection solution for their audio CDs. The company created a solution that some people had severe issues with (and were unable to fix). Sony wants to recoup some of the loss of sales from the trouble this copy protection scheme caused from the people that created it.
Think of it this way. You are in the market for a file utility to protect your customer's data. You buy a solution from a company and you find out later that the solution you bought is causing all your customer's PCs to stop booting up. What do you do? Suck it up and pay out extreme amounts in customer support or go to the company that provided you the faulty solution? Sony is going to the company that made the copy protection.
Another way to think of it is: Blizzard contacts Starforce to put copy protection on their new Warcraft. Some people find out Starforce is causing their PCs to fail and crash. People get all pissed at Blizzard for crashing their system, when in fact it wasn't entirely their fault.
(now replace Blizzard with Sony, Warcraft with Music, and Starforce with MediaMax)
darter9000 @ Jul 13th 2007 7:28PM
Look, the kettle is suing the pot for being black!
Mike @ Jul 13th 2007 8:17PM
Looks like they are starting to eat there own. Hope it gives them indigestion.
darter9000 @ Jul 13th 2007 8:20PM
Why settle for indigestion when you can shoot for food poisoning or explosive diarrhea?
Kevin @ Jul 14th 2007 11:04AM
The company Sony is suing also owns Odeo.com