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Sony's EULA is worse than their DRM

Wanna know what wonderful terms Sony is offering in their EULA
for their music cds?

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004145.php

Now the Legalese Rootkit: Sony-BMG's EULA

November 09, 2005

If you thought XCP "rootkit" copy-protection on Sony-BMG CDs
was bad, perhaps you'd better read the 3,000 word (!) end-user
license agreement (aka "EULA") that comes with all these CDs.

First, a baseline. When you buy a regular CD, you own it. You do
not "license" it. You own it outright. You're allowed to do
anything with it you like, so long as you don't violate one of the
exclusive rights reserved to the copyright owner. So you can play
the CD at your next dinner party (copyright owners get no rights
over private performances), you can loan it to a friend (thanks to
the "first sale" doctrine), or make a copy for use on your iPod
(thanks to "fair use"). Every use that falls outside the limited
exclusive rights of the copyright owner belongs to you, the
owner of the CD.

Now compare that baseline with the world according to the
Sony-BMG EULA, which applies to any digital copies you make of
the music on the CD:

If your house gets burgled, you have to delete all your music
from your laptop when you get home. That's because the EULA
says that your rights to any copies terminate as soon as you no
longer possess the original CD.
You can't keep your music on any computers at work. The EULA
only gives you the right to put copies on a "personal home
computer system owned by you."
If you move out of the country, you have to delete all your
music. The EULA specifically forbids "export" outside the country
where you reside.
You must install any and all updates, or else lose the music on
your computer. The EULA immediately terminates if you fail to
install any update. No more holding out on those hobble-ware
downgrades masquerading as updates.
Sony-BMG can install and use backdoors in the copy protection
software or media player to "enforce their rights" against you, at
any time, without notice. And Sony-BMG disclaims any liability if
this "self help" crashes your computer, exposes you to security
risks, or any other harm.
The EULA says Sony-BMG will never be liable to you for more
than $5.00. That's right, no matter what happens, you can't even
get back what you paid for the CD.
If you file for bankruptcy, you have to delete all the music on
your computer. Seriously.
You have no right to transfer the music on your computer, even
along with the original CD.
Forget about using the music as a soundtrack for your latest
family photo slideshow, or mash-ups, or sampling. The EULA
forbids changing, altering, or make derivative works from the
music on your computer.

So this is what Sony-BMG thinks we should be allowed to do
with the music on the CDs that we purchase from them? No
word yet about whether Sony-BMG will be offering a "patch" for
this legalese rootkit. I'm not holding my breath.

Posted by: tic swayback   Posted on: 11/10/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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