CricketMX.com

Microsoft sues 20 dealers for software piracy

TWENTY US resellers have received writs from Microsoft's m'learned friends alleging they pre-loaded or distributed software illegally.
The lawsuits, filed against 20 companies in nine US states are part of a big Microsoft initiative to fight counterfeiting and piracy.
Senior Microsoft pleader Mary Jo Schrade said: "We will not sit by as consumers are put at risk and honest resellers are hurt."
Microsoft said that it collected 384 Windows XP disks and when analysed found 43 per cent of them contained code not part of the genuine article.
That, said Microsoft, could result in denial of service attacks, bypass password protection and corrupt memory.
The Inquirer

Gonzales Wants Internet Records Saved

The law enforcement officials have indicated to the companies they must retain customer records, possibly for two years. The companies have discussed strengthening their retention periods - which currently run the gamut from a few days to about a year - to help avoid legislation.
AP

Kazaa: the fat lady hasn't sung yet

Firstly, "Lawyers for the recording industry and two senior Sharman Networks and Altnet executives will try to reach a settlement to the last round of the Kazaa legal action today, months after the bulk of the litigation was settled for $US115 million ($153 million)," says The Australian, going on:

"Sharman Networks, which runs the Kazaa filesharing system, settled the music piracy case with the record companies back in July, but action continues against Sharman chief technology officer Phil Morle, and Anthony Rose, chief technology officer of the company's US business partner Altnet."
p2pnet

Sony Rootkit Fiasco Continues in Canada
September 20, 2006
Drew Wilson

MediaMax DRM, also known as the Sony Rookit, has proven to be one fiasco with lasting effects. In Canada, there was the legal action followed by more legal action almost exactly one month later. Late last month, there was a report that Sony was going to settle with Canadians in a similar style to that of the American settlement, pending court approval. Think the Sony Rootkit fiasco was finally laid to rest? Think again.
slyck

Battle Lines Drawn Over Broadcast Treaty
September 20, 2006
Drew Wilson


As reported earlier, WIPO is currently considering a broadcasting and webcasting treaty that would give rights to those disseminating intellectual property for 50 years. The treaty has caused a lot of discontent and a number of US based companies and organizations are stepping forward to express their opposition.
slyck

Copyright hindering scholarship in the humanities and social sciences

A report from the British Academy, launched on 18 September, expresses fears that the copyright system may in important respects be impeding, rather than stimulating, the production of new ideas and new scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.
British Academy

Hungarian p2p Revolution

February 10, "my apartment was being searched by the police because I was the contact person for a server that runs a DC hub among other things," he told p2pnet. "That's when I decided to organize resistance against the copyright mafia."
warez.com

Terrorism no excuse for privacy breaches, says EU regulator
No need to change laws

Terrorism and organised crime should not be used as excuses for passing laws which undermine people's privacy and data protection rights, according to the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). Existing laws do not need changed, he said.

In an update on data protection in Europe, EDPS Peter Hustinx said that security concerns were not an adequate reason to undermine data protection principles.

"It is a misconception that protection of privacy and personal data holds back the fight against terrorism and organised crime," said Hustinx. "Current legislation does allow, for instance, law enforcement to check suspicious phone numbers found in a computer."
The Register

CRIA at the Copyright Board

The Copyright Board of Canada is currently conducting hearings on a proposed online music services tariff and I dropped by the hearings this morning to hear the conclusion of the questioning of CRIA Graham Henderson. Henderson, who was joined by Sony BMG counsel C.J. Prudham, had several noteworthy things to say about file sharing lawsuits, P2P usage in Canada, and the growth of online music sales. First, Henderson described the strategy of suing alleged file sharers as both a "pillar" and a "last resort." He stated that CRIA is holding off launching further lawsuits while the copyright reform process is active. He also acknowledged that the effectiveness of lawsuits as a deterrent was open to question, noting that there needed to be a large number of lawsuits to

represent a credible threat. Moreover, those most likely to file share, the 15 - 24 age group, were also viewed as the biggest risk takers who might not in any event respond to the lawsuit threat.

Second, Henderson was asked about CRIA's persistent claim that the OECD has identified Canada as the largest per capita file sharing country. Following a series of questions, he acknowledged that the OECD data suggested that Canada and the U.S. had roughly the same number of file sharers on a per capita basis. He believed, however, that Canadian file sharers were much more active P2P users.

Third, and most incredibly, Henderson was asked about the growing success of the fee-based online music market and new data that shows continuing success of online sales. He responded by stating that he had not seen such data. The questioner was puzzled, noting Nielsen SoundScan has music download sales reports. The response from the President of the Canadian Recording Industry Association (who earlier this year told the Canadian Club that Canada is "out in the cold" in building digital markets)? He hasn't read the Nielsen reports.
Michael Geist

CRIA and Private Copying

CRIA is currently leading a coalition that includes Apple, Bell, Rogers, and Napster in opposing an application for a new tariff for online downloads (I briefly posted on Graham Henderson's appearance before the Copyright Board last week and his startling claim that he had not read Nielson SoundScan data months after he referenced that data in a speech). The lead statement in the case includes a discussion of private copying, after CSI (the group seeking the tariff) sought compensation for the copies that consumers make from digital downloads. CSI argues that the recording industry authorizes consumers to make those copies.
Michael Geist

Australia’s draft DRM changes: II

p2pnet.net News:- At the start of the month we ran an item from Sally Hawkins in Australia outlining proposals for DRM changes. Tony commented that he thought criminals would love the laws, and Alex H, who dwells not too far from Sal, pointed out the propsals are almost straight out of the America's DMCA.

"If you've read anything about the DMCA, you'll see it's one of the most hated pieces of legislation in the tech community," he posted. "It doesn't represent the will of the people, it represents a comparitively small group of multi-nationals. Do you know any small or independent artists who can afford DRM protections that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars?"

Alex said he'd be putting his thoughts onto paper for the attention of the appropriate authorities. And here they are:
Read the letter on p2pnet.

Sony's ill-fated CD copy protection still causing problems

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The much-maligned copy protection program that Sony BMG Music Entertainment put on CDs last year is still posing a threat to computer users running certain versions of AOL or PestPatrol anti-spyware software.

The glitch may cause a computer's CD-ROM drive to be disabled, according to the Texas attorney general's office, which said Wednesday that the problem was discovered by officials who have been testing the XCP copy-protection technology as part of the state's lawsuit against Sony BMG.

State investigators found that if a CD with XCP technology is loaded on a computer running AOL's "Safety and Security Center'' software, the program's antispyware feature will attempt to delete the XCP components, but often while also disabling the CD-ROM's configuration in the PC's operating system.

The same glitch surfaced on computers running CA Inc.'s PestPatrol separately from AOL, the state said

Texas' lawsuit against the record company claims the XCP software that prevents unauthorized copying of music violated antispyware and consumer protection laws because it monitored users' activities without their knowledge. Several class-action lawsuits against Sony BMG have been settled.

House panel endorses controversial spy bill

Republicans on a key congressional committee on Wednesday approved legislation they described as a necessary rewrite to electronic surveillance law but attacked by Democrats, civil libertarians and technology advocacy groups as flawed and unconstitutional.
C|Net News

Poll: Americans don't want net neutrality (or maybe they don't know what it is)

A nationwide survey of 800 registered voters is being touted by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation because it purports to show that Americans are not interested in net neutrality legislation. Calling proposed net neutrality "onerous," the Committee's press materials say that the poll makes it clear that Americans prefer "video choice" over such regulations.
ArsTechnica

Canadian Court Agrees With CIPPIC Demands

New movement has emerged in the Sony BMG Canada case. As reported earlier, CIPPIC (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic) launched a mountain of complaints against Sony BMG over the rootkit DRM/SunnComm MediaMax DRM settlement. Now the judge has responded.
slyck

CIPPIC Drills Sony BMG Canada Over Rootkit

As recently reported, CIPPIC (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic) is launching a legal battle against Sony BMG. The problem with the settlement is that some say the settlement is way too lax. The documents are in now and CIPPIC is definitely in the Sony BMG case. To think that this next chapter on the marathon Sony BMG story all started with a little DRM (Digital rights Management) encoded into some albums.
slyck

Canadian Sony BMG settlement

2pnet.net News:- The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved a settlement in Ontario's class action against Sony BMG for the Canadian end of the notorious Sony BMG rootkit spyware DRM scandal.
p2pnet

Four From Mississippi Accused In Piracy Lawsuits

The Recording Industry Association of America has accused four Mississippi residents of illegally downloading music.

The lawsuits were filed this week in federal courts around the state.

Named as defendants were Bruce Dubuisson of Pass Christian, Terry Myers of Jackson, Lucindy Holloway of Holly Springs, and Ginger Campbell of Laurel.

In a news release, the association accused the defendants of using illegal sharing services, which allow free music downloads.

This filing comes after R.I.A.A. filed four lawsuits against Mississippi residents in June.

The most recent complaints accuse the Mississippi residents of each downloading between six and 11 songs.

The R.I.A.A., a recording industry trade group, filed the lawsuits on behalf of the record companies who own copyrights on the songs.
Eyewitness News