Fuck sony

[Cloud]

the tax payer would pay nothing... costs are payed by the party losing the case... as a "bloke in a pub" type expert on the law...i don't think sony would stand much chance of victory in these circumstances...

But that's assuming that they would lose - if you think about the resources available to them to defend such a case, the chances are that they could agree to remove (which they've already done, but) all the offending items from sale in exchange for not getting prosecuted. There would be so much options open to them that the only realistic way would be for the EU to go for them as a whole - which has worked (at what cost?) with Microsoft.

A basic argument could be that by purchasing the "CD", you are granting Sony the right to modify your computer. Imagine the technicalities/case law/etc brought forward by Sony to defend their position? All it would take is a not guilty verdict (and that's possible if the defence spin it as such) and the entire act would then be up for discussion, something that wouldn't be in the public interest.

You also have to consider that if Sony had to pay a small fortune in a fine - who would suffer? Chances are, they'd stick up prices and/or cut royalty rates for new contracts. Who suffers? The public.

[skuzzlebutt]

But that's assuming that they would lose - if you think about the resources available to them to defend such a case' date=' the chances are that they could agree to remove (which they've already done, but) all the offending items from sale in exchange for not getting prosecuted. [/quote']

I guess it depends on the legal action in the first place (which i know fuck all about)....if it is based on the contravention's of privacy laws then possible some remedial retrospective action would suffice....however if the action is brought to bear based on loss of property, possibly intellectual property or the like, lost as a result of Sony's un lawful depositing of malicious sw (albeit it is malicious because the code is sloppy) then retrospective actions by sony are of little consequence...

There would be so much options open to them that the only realistic way would be for the EU to go for them as a whole - which has worked (at what cost?) with Microsoft.

As far as i am aware said items haven't been sold in the eu..

A basic argument could be that by purchasing the "CD"' date=' you are granting Sony the right to modify your computer. Imagine the technicalities/case law/etc brought forward by Sony to defend their position? All it would take is a not guilty verdict (and that's possible if the defence spin it as such) and the entire act would then be up for discussion, something that wouldn't be in the public interest. [/quote']

an argument that would open the gates for anybody to deposit all sorts of crap sw on your pc...no taking them to task - in whatever mechanism that may be- is something they now realise is a very real possibility and has significant negative consequences...that's why they have responded in the manner they have...

You also have to consider that if Sony had to pay a small fortune in a fine - who would suffer? Chances are' date=' they'd stick up prices and/or cut royalty rates for new contracts. Who suffers? The public.[/quote']

and if they did, which artist in their right mind would sign up with sony? which punter in their right mind would buy an expensive cd that may have some undesirable side effects yet to manifest themselves....

...my comment is ...as a bloke in the pub expert on international commerce ... remember what happened to michelin after the us gp...as this whole business unfolds, you may see the value of sony shares plummet....which you may find is as harmful to sony as any court action...

[rune]

Just got some real good breaking news, this is funny!

Microsoft are treating sony's poilicy as a direct threat!!

microsoft has said they're going to treat it like a rootkit (which it is) and automatically remove it (presumably with the malicious software removal tool)

So yes fuck you sony!!

I guess that means that the big ms have struck the first blow in the xbox vs ps3 war!

[Guest Kevin Mulhern]

Just got some real good breaking news' date=' this is funny!

Microsoft are treating sony's poilicy as a direct threat!!

microsoft has said they're going to treat it like a rootkit (which it is) and automatically remove it (presumably with the malicious software removal tool)[/quote']

just a little note to remember that the reason for this is that quoting (propably all of your licence agreements unless you don't use M$)

19. The Product is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws and treaties.

Microsoft or its suppliers own the title' date=' copyright, and other intellectual property rights in the

Product. [b']The Product is licensed, not sold.

Means you do not own the software on your computer M$ does, it is their property. So technically Sony is invading M$' property.

* Security Updates. Content providers are using the digital rights management technology

("Microsoft DRM") contained in this Product to protect the integrity of their content ... Owners of such Secure Content ("Secure Content Owners") may' date=' from time to

time, request Microsoft to provide security related updates to the [b']Microsoft DRM components of the

Product ("Security Updates") that may affect your ability to copy, display and/or play Secure

Content through Microsoft software or third party applications that utilize Microsoft DRM.

In intalling this software you have also given M$ the right to

install software on your PC that could stop you from copying or downoading music or videos.

So M$' action may be interpreted as stamping an authority on DRM technology. Yes it seeems lime MS has not lost their penchant for Megalomania.

[Guest Kevin Mulhern]

It seems that Sony has just shot themselves in the foot.

Through trying to protect people from ripping off their music it seems they have, in parts of the their DRM software, ripped off an Open Source mp3 encoder.

I'm sure everyone will appreciate the Irony of this.

http://dewinter.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=215

[rune]

oh yeah eac and lame, pure sound heaven

[Reptile]

The story so far

Sony anti-customer technology roundup and time-line

Since Hallowe'en, we've been posting the details about he revelations relating to Sony's DRM systems, which show jaw-dropping contempt for their customers, for copyright law, for fair trading and for the public interest. With all these posts strung out over a couple weeks, I thought it was high time we put together an omnibus post, summing up all the posts to date:

Oct 31: Sony DRM uses black-hat rootkits

Mark Russinovich, a security researcher, discovers that Sony has been sneakily installing "rootkit"-based DRM on their customers' computers. Rootkits are black-hat hacker tools used to disguise the workings of their malicious software. Removing Sony's rootkit nukes your Windows installation.

Nov 3: Sony releases de-rootkit-ifier, lies about risks from rootkits

Sony announces a "service pack" for its rootkit DRM. It deceptively downplays the risks the rootkit presented. It turns out that the remover doesn't actually work, either.

Nov 3: Felten on Sony's rootkit-"remover"

Princeton DRM researcher Ed Felten analyzes Sony's rootkit "remover" and concludes that it's a hunk of junk: "they're almost certainly adding things to the system...they're not disclosing what they're doing."

Nov 3: Defeat WoW spyware using Sony's rootkit

Warden, a program used by Blizzard to scour World of Warcraft players' system and report on the contents to the company can be defeated with the Sony rootkit. Blizzard claims that Warden only detects a few programs that facilitate cheating, but researchers have found evidence to the contrary.

Nov 8: Defend against Sony's rootkit with DRM-ripping software

AnyDVD, a DVD-ripping program, advertises that it can also inoculate you against the Sony rootkit.

Nov 9: List of CDs infected with Sony's rootkit DRM

EFF releases a partial list of CDs believed infected to infected with Sony's rootkit. Buyer beware -- you're better off buying music from someone else.

Nov 9: Sony's EULA is worse than their rootkit

EFF attorney Fred von Lohmann analyzes the license agreement that accompanies Sony's rootkit DRM (that's right, a license to listen to an audio CD!). It is unbelievably outrageous, the kind of thing that makes you want to get a torch and a pitchfork and head over to the nearest Sony office.

Nov 9: Wanna sue the pants off Sony?

EFF is looking for people who bought rootkit-infected CDs to join a potential lawsuit against Sony

Nov 10: Sony Music CDs infect Macs, too

Mac users shouldn't be smug -- Sony's audio CDs also contain an app that patches OS X's kernel with unspecified restriction-software; though Mac users have to take a few more steps before their computers are compromised

Nov 10: Fantastic screed against the coders who wrote the previous Sony DRM junk

This isn't the first time Sony's been caught doing crap like this; the last time around a geek wrote an amazing rant excoriating the coders who helped Sony write its anti-customer malware

Nov 11: Sony will stop shipping infectious CDs -- too little, too late

Twelve days after being caught using rootkits, Sony announces that it will stop shipping rootkit-infected CDs. No recall of the existing rootkits, though -- and Sony doesn't come close to apologizing. Buying Sony CDs is a great way to screw up your PC, but a lousy way to acquire music.

Nov 12: Sony's *other* malicious audio CD trojan

Princeton DRM researcher Alex Halderman reports on the other malicious software found on Sony CDs, a Suncomm product called MediaMax. MediaMax is a vicious little bug, which spies on you and reports on your deeds to the mothership.

Nov 12: New Sony lockware prevents selling or loaning of games

Sony patents a piece of software that can prevent you from playing a game that's been inserted into one console on another console; speculation is that this is destined for the PS3. Kiss game rentals, loaning and re-sale goodbye. Also, if your PS3 breaks or is stolen, you might as well toss out all your games, they're useless without it.

Nov 13: Sony's malware uninstaller leaves your computer vulnerable

A Finnish researcher discovers that the "uninstaller" for Sony's rootkit leaves a ton of crap behind that hackers can exploit -- he can reboot your computer just by getting you to load a web-page

Nov 13: Sony's rootkit infringes on software copyrights

There are strong indications that Sony ripped off a Free Software-based library called the LAME Encoder for its rootkit. The LAME Encoder is licensed under the Lesser GPL (LGPL), which was released for free re-use by public spirited programmers who merely requested that they be acknowledged. In Sony's zeal to protect its copyrights, they had no compunction about clobbering the copyrights of those software authors.

Other stuff:

Sony lied about its rootkit. They said it didn't phone home with information about your deeds. It does. When they were caught in the lie, they said that they didn't pay attention to the information it sent back, so it's OK

Microsoft is building a Sony rootkit-remover into its anti-spyware product

Lawsuits against Sony are already underway in Italy and the US

At least one piece of malicious software that exploits Sony's rootkit has been discovered in the wild

[Reptile]

Sony Loves You Loozer

Sony begins to recall some infected CDs

Sony is beginning a limited recall of some of the CDs it has shipped that were infected with dangerous, malicious rootkit software. However, Sony still hasn't shipped a working uninstaller for infected machines (the current uninstaller actually creates more vulnerabilities), offer restitution to people whose PCs were damaged by their software, or offered to pull CDs with its other malicious trojan, SunComm's MediaMax.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment said Monday it will pull some of its most popular CDs from stores in response to backlash over copy-protection software on the discs. (Related item: Firestorm rages over lockdown on digital music)

Sony also said it will offer exchanges for consumers who purchased the discs, which contain hidden files that leave them vulnerable to computer viruses when played on a PC.

I wonder if new CDs you get from Sony will have any sneaky malware on them? I bet they will!

[spellchecker]

And it'll be really fun for artists to get their music heard without basically spamming people on the likes of Myspace.

What's wrong with PRS?

http://publicaffairs.linx.net/news/?p=345

they are sharks

[Cloud]

Curious...any follow up to that?

Personally, though they are making a lot of money for themselves out of it, they do guarantee a payment for anyone that plays live. It does seem rather big brother-ish for them to have information on what artists played songs where and when, and it would be interesting to know just how much integrity they have in not sharing that information with interested (ie, majors) parties.

I suppose a fair comparison would be comparing them to TV Licencing..

[catherine]

but PRS and MCPS are non profit societies

If you make 1 of PRS money, they take 13% because they have mroe work to do chasing everything up than MCPS who only take 6 or 7%. so 87p goes to the publishing company and the writer gets about 70p

i dont see whats so horrible about PRS

[Cloud]

I suppose from personal experience I think they are great... you get a suprising amount of money for just getting videos played on tv and also you get so much per minute of radio air time if the songs are all properly registered and so forth.

So erm... I say yay.

Yeah, it's a funny setup really, but ultimately it seems to put more money in the musician's pocket, which is good, right?

I guess the argument goes that they're taking money away from business and giving it to the musicians - which could be bad if the business can't cope with the fees, but at the end of the day, if they can't cope with it, why are they in business?

[catherine]

you can be really lucky when it comes to local radio stations cause they normally just take a sample two weeks and pay you for the whole year based on the two weeks. so if you happen to get played on a local show like 12 times in two weeks you're in luck

i wonder if MMW signed up to any collection societies.

i get confused off the top of my head as to who pays what for what but im pretty sure for them playing to 6000 people they would have got money from the secc.... somehow....

[catherine]

Yeah' date=' it's a funny setup really, but ultimately it seems to put more money in the musician's pocket, which is good, right?

I guess the argument goes that they're taking money away from business and giving it to the musicians - which could be bad if the business can't cope with the fees, but at the end of the day, if they can't cope with it, why are they in business?[/quote']

do you mean business like shops???

if they cant afford to pay the blanket fee then they shuold just not play music.

its not that much anyway i dont think

although there was a big court case thing over this guy who ran a chip van in the middle of no where cause he played a radio. and the prs tried to make him pay for the right to play music. but he argued saying that people didnt come to his chip van for the music, they came cause he was the only chipper for like 20 miles. so why should he pay for his own entertainment.

in the end he didnt have to pay anything... which is interesting

but there are always debates over that

who is doing the promoting? do people go into a shop cause they like the music, or do people go into a shop then hear something they like and may then be encouraged to go buy the album in a music shop

in that case should the Record companies be playing for the privalege of being advertised

thats what happens in radio stations in america! (i think... it has been a while since i learnt all this stuff)

[Skacel]

Through trying to protect people from ripping off their music it seems they have' date=' in parts of the their DRM software, ripped off an Open Source mp3 encoder.

[/quote']

Fucking scumbags it's ok for them to rip off ordinary people but when we do it to them it's a different story.

how do you know if this stuff is on the cd will it only play thru a mediaplayer that is already on the cd or something?

[historicrocker]

Piss off, I buy every second cd I have on my computer and I'm not going to be made a criminal by some corporate bastard company that couldn't appreciate art to save itself.

[Reptile]

Sony's spyware "remover" creates huge security hole

Princeton's Ed Felten and Alex Halderman have published new research into a grave security vulnerability opened up if you run the "uninstaller" that Sony supplies to rid your PC of its malicious rootkit software, which it installs when you insert an audio CD into your PC, as a means of restricting your use of the music on the CD.

The new vulnerability is as grave as a security vulnerability can be. If you run the uninstaller, your computer can be utterly compromised by an attacker who can reach it via the Web. Your computer can be made to run any code and surrender your data. It can be enlisted to act as a "zombie" for sending spam or attacking sites that are being shaken down in protection rackets.

Ed and Alex have written a demo to show that this danger is real. They've also supplied instructions for removing this dangerous software from your PC.

The music industry often warns against the use of P2P systems because they claim that P2P software can contain sneaky, malicious software that compromises your PC. Well, it appears that legitimately purchased CDs are deliberately corrupted with the same dangerous software.

If you buy CDs, you risk your PC, you risk having your personal information stolen by crooks, and you risk having your equipment used to break the law.

The consequences of the flaw are severe. It allows any web page you visit to download, install, and run any code it likes on your computer. Any web page can seize control of your computer; then it can do anything it likes. That's about as serious as a security flaw can get.

The root of the problem is a serious design flaw in Sony's web-based uninstaller. When you first fill out Sony's form to request a copy of the uninstaller, the request form downloads and installs a program - an ActiveX control created by the DRM vendor, First4Internet - called CodeSupport. CodeSupport remains on your system after you leave Sony's site, and it is marked as safe for scripting, so any web page can ask CodeSupport to do things. One thing CodeSupport can be told to do is download and install code from an Internet site. Unfortunately, CodeSupport doesn't verify that the downloaded code actually came from Sony or First4Internet. This means any web page can make CodeSupport download and install code from any URL without asking the user's permission.

[Reptile]

Sony rootkit roundup, part II

Immunize Yourself Against Sonys Dangerous Uninstaller: Princeton DRM researchers Ed Felten and Alex Halderman explain how to miitgate the security vulnerabilities left behind by Sony's incompetent "uninstaller" program.

http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=930

List of infected CDs: Sony finally lists the 52 titles infected with the XCP rootkit. Note that Sony initially claimed that fewer than half that number were infected.

http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/titles.html

US-CERT: Never Install Audio-CD DRM Software. The Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team advises that you never install CD DRM: "Do not install software from sources that you do not expect to contain software, such as an audio CD."

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004167.php