New York - Sony BMG has filed suit against a maker of CD anti-piracy technology the major record label said cost it millions of dollars, after the software was found to potentially open computers to hackers, leading to a recall and government investigations, the Associated Press reported.

Sony BMG sued Amergence Group -- formerly known as SunnComm -- which developed technology called MediaMax that can help prevent consumers from uploading songs on CDs to file-sharing networks.

The label filed a summons in New York state court, and is seeking $12 million in damages, alleging "negligence, unfair business practices and breaching the terms of its license agreement by delivering software that 'did not perform as warranted'."

Sony BMG agreed to pay a total of $5.75 million to settle litigation and investigations related to the CD recall.

For its part, Amergence has denied the allegations, AP reports, and suggested that the faulty software came from another company.

U.K.-based First 4 Internet's XCP technology was also identified as the cause of security issues during the CD recall.

Related Links:
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-piracy12jul12,1,4679559.story (AP)

http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp

http://www.amergencegroup.com

http://www.first4internet.co.uk