Sony sues maker of MediaMax DRM system

CD protection developer accused of damaging Sony name.

Sony BMG

, the division of the

Sony

group embroiled in a long-running scandal after releasing a number of CDs using suspect techniques to implement anti-piracy protection, has brought a damages case against the firm it hired to develop some of the software involved.

The CD protection system using the

‘XCP’ rootkit technique

to cloak the actions of the software and prevent removal, and CDs using the software were shipped to consumers in late 2005. The suspicious activity was soon spotted by malware experts and a sizeable backlash against the CD maker ensued, with many security products detecting and removing the software to reduce the risk of other malware piggy-backing the simple method used to hide files.

Shortly afterwards worries were raised about some other technology employed by

Sony

CDs, the

MediaMax

system developed by

SunnComm

, now called

The Amergence Group

. This included further suspect techniques, rendering systems even more vulnerable to other attacks.

The scandal added to the growing movement attacking the concept of ‘digital rights management’ (DRM) and the validity of attempting to control access to media data on the web.

Sony

recalled the dangerous CDs and went on to pay out over $5 million in compensation to customers whose systems were compromised by the malcode. Further controversy followed when Canadian consumers were

offered less

than those in the US.

Now,

Sony

is suing the Phoenix, Arizona, based developer of

MediaMax

for $12 million in damages, accusing the company of providing defective software and harming its good name.

Amergence

has responded with claims that

Sony

is at fault for not properly testing the software before release and providing them with inadequate design specifications, and many commentators have wondered why

MediaMax

should be targeted ahead of the maker of

XCP

, UK-based

First4Internet

, whose software is generally thought the most serious aspect of the ‘

Sony

Rootkit’ fiasco.

The case was filed on July 3rd. Details can be found at IT law website

OutLaw.com

,

here

. More commentary is

here

, in a

McAfee

blog entry, or

here

from a blogger at

Zdnet

.

Posted on 16 July 2007 by

Virus Bulletin