Companies threaten Apple, Microsoft, Adobe with digital rights lawsuit
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
May 10, 2007 at 5:17pm
Media Rights Technologies, a company that creates and licenses content management and enablement solutions, and Bluebeat.com, a digital radio company, have issued a “cease and desist” order to Apple, Microsoft, Adobe and Real Networks and is threatening a lawsuit for failing to include measures to control access to copyrighted material in products such as iTunes, the iPod and the Vista operating system.
Media Rights is citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1998 to disseminate and protect the arts in the digital age. It makes illegal and prohibits the manufacture of any product or technology that is designed for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure which effectively controls access to a copyrighted work or which protects the rights of copyright owners. Under the DMCA, mere avoidance of an effective copyright protection solution is a violation of the act.
MRT reps say their company and BlueBeat have developed a technological measure which controls access to copyrighted material. That product, the X1 SeCure Recording Control, has purportedly been tested by the industry’s standards bodies, the RIAA and IFPI, and has been proven effective against stream ripping, while protecting privacy and limiting infringement liability for users, distributors and academic institutions. It has been designed for rapid deployment on a reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) basis.
So MRT and BlueBeat.com have issued cease and desist letters to Apple, Microsoft, Adobe and Real Networks with respect to the production or sale of such products as the iPod, iTunes, Flash Player, Real Player and Vista OS. MRT asserts the companies have produced billions of these products without regard for the DMCA or the rights of American Intellectual Property owners, actively avoiding the use of MRT’s technologies. Failure to comply with this demand could result in a federal court injunction to any of the above named parties to cease production or sale of their products and/or the imposition of statutory damages of at least US$200 to $2,500 for each product distributed or sold, claims MRT CEO Hank Risan.
“Together these four companies are responsible for 98 percent of the media players in the marketplace; CNN, NPR, Clear Channel, MySpace Yahoo and YouTube all use these infringing devices to distribute copyrighted works,” he said in a press release. “We will hold the responsible parties accountable. The time of suing John Doe is over.”
Brian Peat Says:
Let me get this straight...a company makes a new technology, then sues other companies for not using it, trying to force them to use it (ie, PAY for it)? Is that even legal?
Posted on May 11, 2007
Brian A. Says:
Yes, it is entirely legal to sue a co. when it has broken the law, the DCMA ruling- that is how our democracy works.
Posted on May 11, 2007
ClarkKent Says:
Er, I believe that in order for a company to sue it must prove that it was harmed in some way. Lack of sales does not qualify.
Posted on May 12, 2007
BayouMan Says:
A judge will throw this out immediately on the grounds the company has no legal standing in this case. They’re not an injured party, they’re a bunch of truffle-digging hogs trying to score the big mushroom. Imagine if this actually did fly.
“you didn’t use my technology, so I am going to sue the hell out of you and put you out of business.”
The airlines will start suing fliers for NOT using them. Hah!
Posted on May 13, 2007
Raphael Says:
ClarkKent: Oh, sure, lack of sales (or “lost revenue") surely qualifies, that’s the entire case RIAA puts forward; you aren’t actually “stealing” say, an mp3, the original is in no way modified as you copy it and doesn’t cease to exist, but you are causing “lost revenue” for the company. The figures they cite are based exactly on the premise that all these copies would otherwise be paid for; so lack of sales is SURELY enough for the DMCA.
Posted on June 25, 2007
ClarkKent Says:
Let’s be clear, Raphael. It’s the individual record labels who can sue because they are the injured parties. This appears to be “Media Rights Technologies” suing because they claim that Apple et. al. should be respecting the DMCA by using their technologies.
Posted on June 26, 2007
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
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dave Says:
This can’t be a ‘for-real’ lawsuit. This seems way more like a method of advertising, to get the companies name out there as a method of DRM. Suddenly, a nothing company goes from zero to lots in number of hits related to DRM and DCMA.
Posted on May 10, 2007