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What Manner of Idiocy is This?
Thursday, 2007 May 10 - 7:39 pm
A company is threatening to sue Apple, Microsoft, Real Networks, and Adobe for not using its DRM product.

Okay, get this.

A company called Media Rights Technologies "asserts Apple, Microsoft, Real and Adobe have produced billions of... products without regard for the DMCA or the rights of American Intellectual Property owners, actively avoiding the use of MRT's technologies." In essence, MRT developed a copy protection mechanism, and is threatening to sue based on the fact that no one is using it.

Huh?

Here's the crux of their "legal" argument: "Under the DMCA, mere avoidance of an effective copyright protection solution is a violation of the act."

I'm curious to know exactly what section of the DMCA says that. There are plenty of restrictions on systems that circumvent a protection system that's been placed on a copyrighted work. But there's nothing that says you have to implement every copy protection mechanism known to mankind.

I thought this was a joke when I saw this. Could it be possible that there are actually lawyers out there, legal professionals, who actually believe they're going to be able to extort money from these companies simply by putting out this press release, and sending a few cease-and-desist letters?

Utterly ridiculous. If I were Apple et al, I'd be tempted to sue for defamation. To state that these companies are violating the DMCA is a clearly false statement, and it is done with the express intent of inflicting financial harm. After that, I'd go through my patent portfolio and sue for everything that even smells like infringement, until MRT is buried in a swamp full of debt and humiliation.
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Posted by Ken in: techwatch

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