Copy protection infringing copyright?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Joseph Lorenzo Hall <joehall () gmail com>
Date: November 13, 2005 2:59:15 PM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Copy protection infringing copyright?
Reply-To: joehall () pobox com

<http://groups.sims.berkeley.edu/osdddi/?p=57>

# [Copy protection infringing copyright?][1]

To protect its own intellectual property, Sony BMG appears to be
blatantly infringing the copyright of others.

Undoubtedly, many of you have heard about the _[rootkit][2]_ that is
[installed on Windows PCs][3] upon inserting [recent CDs][4] from Sony
BMG Entertainment record labels. This has become a veritable fiasco as
this piece of spyware can be used to cloak all manner of things from
[viruses][5] to [cheating software][6]. However, it now appears that
the code written by the company that Sony BMG hired, First4 Internet,
may actually infringe the LGPL by using code from the [LAME][7] mp3
encoding library (from _["Spyware Sony seems to breach
copyright"][8]_):

> This software is licensed under the so called Lesser Gnu Public
  License (LGPL). According to this license Sony must comply with a
  couple of demands. Amongst others, they have to indicate in a
  copyright notice that they make use of the software. The company
  must also deliver the source code to the open-source libraries or
  otherwise make these available. And finally, they must deliver or
  otherwise make available the in between form between source code and
  executable code, the so called objectfiles, with which others can
  make comparable software.

> Sony complied with non of these demands, but delivered just an
  executable program. A computerexpert, whose name is known by the
  redaction, discovered that the cd "Get Right With The Man" by "Van
  Zant" contains strings from the library version.c of Lame. This can
  be conluded from the string: "http://www.mp3dev.org/";, "0.90",
  "LAME3.95", "3.95", "3.95".

> But the expert has more proof. For example, the executable program
  go.exe contains a so called array largetbl. This is a part used in
  the module tables.c of libmp3lame.

[1]: http://groups.sims.berkeley.edu/osdddi/?p=57
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit
[3]: http://www.cnet.com/4520-6033_1-6376177.html? 
part=rss&subj=edfeat&tag=DRM+this%2C+Sony%21
[4]: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004144.php
[5]: http://news.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=/ 
5-0&fp=437795daf1dddc4f&ei=Hph3Q_jsMs7wFJ2WiEM&url=http%3A// 
www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2145874/virus-writers-exploit-sony- 
drm&cid=0
[6]: http://news.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=/ 
2-0&fp=4377899f9163d8b8&ei=QJh3Q6aTMqaWFpexzEQ&url=http%3A// 
www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/04/secfocus_wow_bot/&cid=0
[7]: http://www.mp3dev.org/
[8]: http://dewinter.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=215


--
Joseph Lorenzo Hall
PhD Student
UC Berkeley, School of Information (SIMS)
<http://josephhall.org/>
blog: <http://josephhall.org/nqb2/>

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