p2pnet - rss feed: MS sues FairUse4WM creator
2pnet.net News:- "An American megacorp swinging around bogus indictments in order to root out a hacker? Surely you jest!"
That’s a quote from Engadget on the fact Bill and the Boyz are suing, "an anonymous computer hacker whose free program allows users to copy digital movies and songs by bypassing a software protection built into the company’s Media player," as Reuters sums it up.
The application under discussion is FairUse4WM from Viodentia and according to Microsoft, the former, "illegally obtained propriety source code to produce the program called FairUse4WM, sparking fears it could enable consumers to illegally copy digital content," states the story.
But Viodentia is uncowed and unbowed and told Engadget he’s "utterly shocked" by the allegation.
"I didn’t use any Microsoft source code," the story has him saying. "However, I believe that this lawsuit is a fishing expedition to get identity information, which can then be used to either bring more targeted lawsuits, or to cause other trouble."
Says Engadget, "We’re sure Microsoft would like its partners and the public to think that its DRM is generally infallible and could only be cracked by stealing its IP, so Viodentia’s conclusion about its legal tactics seems pretty fair, obvious, and logical to us."
The cartels, with the Big Four Organized Music family to the fore, are trying to claim that when you buy a CD or DVD, you’re not actually buying it, you’re licensing it and that there are very definite limitations on what you can do with it. It’s all part of cartel attempts to gain absolute control of how, and by whom, ‘product’ is distributed in- and offline, and to crush anything which looks even remotely like competition.
Meanwhile, "The FairUse4WM system removed copyright protection from music files downloaded through subscription services such as Napster and Yahoo! Music," observes The Register.
"The software has the ability to strip DRM from files protected with Windows Media DRM version 10 and 11, making it easier to transfer legitimately purchased music
"Redmond quickly issued a patch but the unknown developer, known only as Viodentia, quickly found a way around the update, much to chagrin of Redmond and its content partners."
Of course, DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) is about as hollow as claims from the software and entertaiment cartels that the customer comes first.
If you can see it or hear it, you can copy it.
And at the end of the day, the cartels depend utterly and wholly on YOU, the consumer they so obviously despise, not merely to generate their enormous profits, but for their very existence.
They can’t treat you like dirt forever and sometime soon, you’ll let them know that.
Also See:
Reuters - Microsoft sues unknown haker over digital content, September 27, 2006
Viodentia - Microsoft vs FairUse4WM, August 31, 2006
The Register - MS accuses DRM hacker of source code theft, September 27, 2006
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