Comments on: Sony BMG infringement

By: Nathanael Nerode

Nathanael Nerode — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 08:12:31 +0000

You may not be able to get damages, but you can get a permanent injunction stopping them from using your software again.

Of course, because they have already stopped using it, this is probably not necessary. But if they ever started again….

By: Nikolai

Nikolai — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 18:03:07 +0000

Disclaimer: I am a lawyer in Canada, but I am not qualified to give advice about the laws of other countries, so it is very important that you consult a lawyer with expertise in the relevant jurisdiction before taking any action based on the following:

Back in law school I wrote a paper comparing the intellectual property regimes of various countries. Although I may be wrong, I seem to remember that the U.K. has a provision in their copyright act that allows the copyright owner of a work to walk into a retail store and seize all copies of an infringing work. There are some legal hoops you have to jump through first, of course, but if I remember correctly, they are reasonably minor (for example, you must first give notice at the local police station). I remember thinking at the time that the procedure in the U.K. was far FAR easier, and also more emotionally satisfying, than the procedure in either Canada or the United States.

You might also want to look into variations in the way “moral rights” are defined and interpreted in various countries. In particular, the French concept of “droit moral” is significantly broader than its anemic analog on this side of the Atlantic. You almost certainly have rights in France that you did not (and cannot) sign away under the GPL, which is based on a U.S. interpretation of the common law of contract.

I would be surprised if you were not able to find a few lawyers in France and the U.K. willing to help you out. Many people around the world feel a debt of gratitude to you.

By: MrTibbs

MrTibbs — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 15:00:51 +0000

Dear John,

UK Companies House http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk and First4internet.co.uk both show First 4 Internet Ltd registered office being in Glamorgan, South Wales rather than Banbury.

There are several other ‘First 4′ companies registered.

By: John

John — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 22:18:19 +0000

As First4Internet are located in the UK, has anyone explored whether they committed a criminal offence under UK copyright law. It would be the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council trading standards to investigate complaints about matters like that, as they cover Banbury, where F4I’s registered offices are located.

By: Patrik Gafvert

Patrik Gafvert — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 10:55:27 +0000

Sony rootkit removal tool for Windows 2000/XP

http://www.norman.com/Virus/25947/en-us

Best regards
Patrik Gafvert

By: Ollie G

Ollie G — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 11:07:14 +0000

Oh, how annoying. It’d be so much easier if it were clear you could sue them and win. Sure you – and us – want to floor them in court if you can, but you also want to get on with your life.

It does sound worth speaking to another lawyer (although I and just about everyone here isn’t one) if only to hear the same thing twice so you can let it rest easier.

By: JD

JD — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 15:50:06 +0000

Are we all forgetting something? I believe that Jon wouldn’t be able to sue Sony directly, since they only used the software. The software was made by First4Internet. He might be able to get at them for secondary liability, though.

Also, while IANAL, I don’t you don’t need to have registered the work with the U.S. Copyright office before infringement. You just need to register with them prior to suing the company responsible.

That having been said, since First4Internet is based in the UK, the laws there are far different.

I echo the statements here: get another lawyer.

By: eby

eby — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 04:43:47 +0000

Even if you can’t get damages I think it would be worthwhile to try to get them to release the applicable source code as it may help those looking into the security issues and other various cases relating to that.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 22:03:49 +0000

Actually, it shouldn’t be that hard to prove damages because your work was distributed in a proprietary manner. It would’ve cost money for them to dual-license it to a proprietary license, thus your damages. The registration part sucks, though. I don’t suppose you could get affidavits from the CVS maintainer stating that your code was created and owned by you well before the infringement?

By: pwnage

pwnage — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 04:40:31 +0000

I would save all the time and energy it would take to sue Sony and use it to modify FairKeys so that it works with iTunes 6. This way, iPod carrying San Diego cuties with big boobies will have a reason to thank you.

Just a thought.