Home

CD Copy-Protection

N.Y. Times Op-Ed: CD Copy-Protection is Bad for Consumers, Musicians, Labels

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 9, 2005 - 4:13am.
New York - The New York Times this week published an op-ed piece written by Damian Kulash, Jr., the lead singer for the U.K. band OK Go, on the Sony BMG copy-protected CD debacle and how such anti-piracy technology is actually hurting up-and-coming bands like his. "Sony BMG and the other major labels need to face reality: copy-protection software is bad for everyone, consumers, musicians and labels alike," writes Kulash. "It's much better to have copies of albums on lots of iPods, even if only half of them have been paid for, than to have a few CD's sitting on a shelf and not being played."
tags: Consumers | Labels | N.Y. Times Op-Ed | CD Copy-Protection | Musicians |

SonyBMG CD Copy-Protection Enables iPod Playback, Infringes Open Source

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 8, 2005 - 6:49am.
San Francisco - The malicious XCP SonyBMG CD copy-protection technology developed by First 4 Internet, which has forced the recall of millions of CDs, also contained code that allows the copy-protected tracks to play on Apple's iPod, according to a post on Freedom to Tinker, a blog run by computer researchers Alex Halderman and Edward Felten. No other previous CD copy-protection schemes have enabled protected tracks to be transferred to the popular portable player, the result of Apple's refusal to license its FairPlay digital rights management technology. What's more, the code that enables iPod playback of XCP copy-protected CD tracks appears to infringe on the copyrights of several open source software products. Wired News on Wednesday profiled 24-year-old Princeton University researcher John "Alex" Halderman, in a story available from a link below.
tags: Music | CD Copy-Protection | SonyBMG | iPod Playback | Infringes Open Source |

SonyBMG CD Copy-Protection Enables iPod Playback, Infringes Open Source

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 7, 2005 - 6:55am.
San Francisco - The malicious XCP SonyBMG CD copy-protection technology developed by First 4 Internet, which has forced the recall of millions of CDs, also contained code that allows the copy-protected tracks to play on Apple's iPod, according to a post on Freedom to Tinker, a blog run by computer researchers Alex Halderman and Edward Felten. No other previous CD copy-protection schemes have enabled protected tracks to be transferred to the popular portable player, the result of Apple's refusal to license its FairPlay digital rights management technology. What's more, the code that enables iPod playback of XCP copy-protected CD tracks appears to infringe on the copyrights of several open source software products. Wired News on Wednesday profiled 24-year-old Princeton University researcher John "Alex" Halderman, in a story available from a link below.
tags: CD Copy-Protection | SonyBMG | iPod Playback | Infringes Open Source |

Users Still Awaiting Software Fix for SonyBMG CD Copy-Protection

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 6, 2005 - 8:56am.
New York - Nearly three weeks after announcing it would provide software that would uninstall the malicious code it included on millions of copy-protected music CDs, major label SonyBMG has yet to release such software, USA Today reported. The software fix will patch a security risk that could invite viruses onto PCs if users play certain SonyBMG CDs on their computers. The label argued that "security is more important than speed," Thomas Hesse, president of Sony's Global Digital Business division, told USA Today. "I have the best security experts triple-checking it." The company also said on Nov. 14 that it would recall some 5 million of the CDs still on retailers' shelves, but last week attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts criticized the company for not having removed all discs containing the XCP software from stores in their states.
tags: Users | CD Copy-Protection | SonyBMG | Software Fix |

Citing User Complaints, Universal to Halt CD Copy-Protection in Germany

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 21, 2004 - 8:13am.
London -- Major record label Universal Music Group has decided to phase out the sale of copy-protected CDs in Germany, "to address ongoing concerns that copy-protected CDs do not play in some hi-fi devices," Reuters reported. The company added that it may reintroduce the technology, which prevents album tracks from being uploaded to the Internet, after it is further fine-tuned. Some consumers have complained to retailers that copy-protected CDs won't play in some devices that are designed to play CDs, such as car stereos, PCs or DVD players. The revelation from Universal comes following the announcement last week that a copy-protected CD released by BMG was the top-selling CD in the U.S. for the week, and that fellow major label EMI would conduct its own trials of CD copy-protection.
tags: Germany | Universal | CD Copy-Protection | Halt |