L'exception de copie privée face aux dispositifs techniques de protection des oeuvres

Background

In August 2000, Sony Pictures Entertainment US senior VP Steve Heckler foreshadowed events of late 2005. Heckler told attendees at the Americas Conference on Information Systems "The industry will take whatever steps it needs to protect itself and protect its revenue streams...It will not lose that revenue stream, no matter what...Sony is going to take aggressive steps to stop this. We will develop technology that transcends the individual user. We will firewall Napster at source - we will block it at your cable company, we will block it at your phone company, we will block it at your [ISP]. We will firewall it at your PC...These strategies are being aggressively pursued because there is simply too much at stake."

Sony BMG software issues

On October 31, 2005, Mark Russinovich posted to his blog a detailed description and technical analysis of the characteristics of the software contained on Sony BMG music CDs. Called Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far, the article asserts vocally that the software is illegitimate and that digital rights management had "gone too far."

Security holes

Russinovich stated that there were shortcomings in the software design that manifest themselves as security holes that can be exploited by malicious software such as worms or viruses. He also mentioned that the XCP software installed silently before the EULA appeared, that the EULA does not mention the XCP software, and that there was no uninstaller, all of which are illegal in various ways in various jurisdictions. Several comments to the entry recommended a lawsuit against Sony BMG.

Freedom To Tinker had an article on November 12, 2005 discussing the SunnComm DRM found on some Sony BMG CDs, which is very similar to the F4I software in that it installs without authorization or notification, and does not have an uninstaller.

Resource drain

The article also asserts that the software runs in the background and consumes system resources, slowing down the user's computer, regardless of whether there is a protected CD playing or not.

Poor design

Russinovich presented evidence that the software employs unsafe procedures to start/stop the rootkit, which could lead to system crashes (the famous BSoD) and that inexpert attempts to deinstall the software can lead to the Windows operating system failing to recognize existing drive(s).