Guess Spitzer just couldn't make that "no more Celine Dion CDs ever" clause stick: Sony's long public relations debacle is finally over (see "Sony BMG's new corporate anthem: Benny Hill Theme"). Ending the year battered by the public flogging given it for its arrogant and ill-conceived digital rights management software (see "Sorry, we thought 'rootkit' was Finnish for 'congratulations on your DRM scheme' "), the music company agreed to compensate anyone who purchased copy-protected Sony BMG CDs. Under the terms of a class action settlement (see "All I said was 'Eliot Spitzer on Line 1,' and he went straight for the ceremonial dagger"), those who purchased CDs that included either XCP or MediaMax DRM will be given replacement CDs free of the software. They will also be entitled to either $7.50 in cash and a free download of another CD or three free CD downloads. More importantly, Sony BMG has agreed to have an independent auditor review future copy protection measures, clearly label copy-protected CDs and disclose any restrictions on their use in plain English. Not a perfect settlement, but not a bad one either. Certainly, the concessions Sony's agreed to make here are important ones. "Notwithstanding its shortcomings, the Sony settlement does provide a potential starting point for a much-needed model statute to protect consumers from TPMs (Technological Protection Measures)," Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, writes. "The European Union Copyright Directive, the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and Bill C-60 in Canada establish legal protections for TPMs by establishing anti-circumvention measures; however, the rootkit incident illustrates that there is the need for parallel consumer legal protections from TPMs. The disclosure requirements provide a model for treating TPMs much like cigarettes and alcohol, with appropriate warnings on their potential negative consequences. The security measures may be the first step toward a comprehensive TPM approval and licensing system that places the security needs of the general public ahead of private commercial interests."
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