The fallout from Sony's digital rights management usage continues. A class action lawsuit has been launched in California, police authorities have been asked to investigate in Italy, and the issue is attracting enormous attention. EFF has revealed that there is a Canadian connection as well. At least two CDs using the rootkit are Canadian artists – Celine Dion and Our Lady Peace. Given this connection, it may be time for the Privacy Commissioner and Competition Bureau to take a closer look at whether this DRM use violates Canadian law. Moreover, it is time for fans of OLP to let them know what they think of the practice.
The Canadian Connection to the Sony Rootkit
Tags: copyright / drm / musicCopyright Microsite - Digital Rights ManagementCopyright Microsite - Mainstream Media CoverageCopyright Microsite - Music IndustryCopyright Microsite - Canadian Copyright / sony
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Does the Copyright act address the tyran
THis rootkit business, as you know, is just the latest in a long line of attempts by Intellectual Property holders such as Sony to reduce the ability of the average person to ever “own” anything. Ever.
The end of this DRM path is of course the “per use” rental of intellectual property. Users would pay (because they had to) every time they wanted to listen to a song, watch a film, even read a book if possible.
Is that legal?
So much focus of the debate has been about these technologies and how they conflict with current copyright law regarding “fair dealing” and curtail the ability of the consumer to use the intellectual property in ways that are currently protected by copyright law in one form or another that i haven’t really seen the reverse issue been looked at directly:
Does any of this DRM that is being snuck into the marketplace violate any Copyright law by hindering the customer’s ability to excercise their rights to the content as defined by copyright law? Sony’s Rootkit is maybe especially eggregious, but is any technology that denys one the ability to excercise their rights as laid out in current copyright law, legal?
Disgusting
I don’t know for certain if it’s legal or not. I fear Bill C-60 might MAKE it legal if it’s passed. And either way, that one word in the title sums up my reaction to the practice on principle.
C-60
I love music but I won’t buy protected disks.
The root kit situation case hardens my stance even more
What i find is that Canada is wanting to protect this activaty with Bill C-60…(illeagle to remove/circumnavigate TMP/ DRM)
If that part passed we cauld be fined or jailed for removeing root kits that are to protect SONY in this case ….. as they damage our epuiment.
Not good at all !!!
Protection from over the top DRM and TPM’s Is what is needed for the customer/consummer.
Law shold be for the citizen not corparate giants bent on controlling us
I will let everyone know about the evils of DRM and TPM
Canada should just scrap C-60 and not embrace WIPO our USA type laws (DMCA has caused a lot of greif for the US) we should not follow that path.
Bet Our Lady Peace did not know this that the CD was going to be Protected .
A lot of artists arn’t happy with this or other forms of protected disks
FOR I AM CANADIAN AND WILL FOREVER BE !!!!!
Our Lady Peace’s Official Reaction:
It can be found here:
http://www.ourladypeace.net/news/news.php?uid=13
Apparently, they were caught flatfooted by the news like most of the rest of us. If anyone can confirm their claims re: discs currently sold up here in Canada…?
apropos of nothing
I laughed out loud (LOL’ed?) when your comment was an indirect slap at the Celine Dion fans. Who would either not be technically savvy enough to care? Who would be old enough — and therefore presumably conservative enough — to actually support this kind of action on Sony’s part?
Amusing…
wondering
how many other companies has sony taken the heat off?by there getting caught and having all eyes on them? and i also wonder how involved the RIAA is??
Root Kit
For all computer users out there they should know that the root kit affects both windows and macintosh computers. Do not install anything that the CD wants to install! There are 2 ways to check for the root kit. You can put a text file on your desktop name it $sys$filename.txt and if it disappears you have the rootkit. You can also go to sysinternals website and download rootkit revealer and it will tell you if you have the root kit but it will also show lots of other hidden processes by windows and you should not use this unless you are a very expereinced computer user. For more information about the root kit you can look up my podcast in google The Option Key Podcast or go to optionkey.ca and episodes 7-10 go into detail about the root kit.