Spyware Suits Shed Light On DMCA Concerns

Last November, when millions of music lovers were shocked to discover that Sony BMG Music Entertainment had installed spyware-type software on over 4.7 million CDs, Princeton University computer science professors Edward Felten and J. Alex Halderman weren't surprised. The two computer-security experts uncovered Sony BMG's secret software ' designed to prevent CD piracy ' about a month before the public. But fearing copyright lawsuits from Sony BMG, Felten and Halderman say they kept their findings as hidden as the software. They aren't keeping quiet anymore. In December, the researchers filed a comment at the U.S. Copyright Office seeking an exemption from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the law that they say stifles their work.

12 minute read February 02, 2006 at 10:54 AM

By

Lisa Lerer