EMI quick to distance itself from Sony over Rootkit DRM

Quakester2000

November 10, 2005

DamnedIfIknow used our news submit to tell us that music companies
are starting to distance themselves from Sony over the DRM rootkit saga which
now faces legal action
in the USA. The EMI music group one of the biggest in the world has publicly
distanced itself from Sony BMG by saying that it does not use DRM
Rootkits.

Sony has been highly
criticized for its DRM rootkit software that runs in the background even when
the copy protected cd isn't in use. The software which is practically impossible
to remove via normal uninstalling techniques and has to be removed manually as
Sony's recently released uninstaller doesn't remove the files just makes them
visible.

EMI publicly announced
that any DRM software they use can be easily removed if the user does not
want to listen to the cd anymore. EMI reiterated that its DRM program does
not leave traces of itself on the users system and does not run in the
background. EMI has also publicly distanced itself from First 4 Internet the
company that developed Sony's DRM rootkit, saying that they were not working
with First 4 Internet. Though EMI did say that they were trialling other content
protection from companies such as Macrovision's, SunnComm and
Sony.

While Sony's drm rootkit
has sparked outrage it would be particularly hard to sue Sony in the
UK even if the users system was
damaged by the software according to legal experts.

The EMI Group, one of the world's largest recording companies, has distanced itself from the controversy surrounding digital rights management (DRM) software used by Sony BMG by stating that it does not use rootkits on its own products.

Sony has been criticized for including DRM software with a music CD that runs even when the CD is not being played, and hides itself using rootkit technology. The software is difficult to remove and, if removed manually, could shut off access to the computer's CD player.It has been rumored that other recording giants including EMI and the Universal Music Group use technology similar to that used by Sony; an EMI spokesman said on Friday that the DRM used on EMI's CDs can be completely removed if the user doesn't want to play the CD any more.

"The content-protection software that we're using can be easily uninstalled with a standard uninstaller that comes on the disc. EMI is not using any software that hides traces of the program. There is no 'rootkit' behavior, and there are no processes left running in the background," said an EMI spokesman in a statement.EMI also said it was not working with First 4 Internet, the U.K. company that created the copy-restriction software for Sony, although it is trialing other content-protection software.

"EMI is not using First 4 Internet technology. We recently completed a trial of three content-protection technologies (Macrovision's CDS300, SunnComm's MediaMax and SonyDADC's key2audioXS), and First 4 Internet's technology was not one of those tested," said the spokesman.

Universal Music Group was unable to provide comment in time for this article.Although Sony's use of rootkits has sparked an outcry, users would find it difficult to sue Sony in the U.K., even if their computer was damaged by its copy-restriction software, according to legal experts.

Source: News.com