In another piece of evidence that the world is coming to an end, Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, RealNetworks, and other technology biggies were served with a Cease and Desist order by Media Rights Technology, demanding they use MRT’s technology to prevent streaming musical content from being ripped.
MRT believes, due to provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, that they can force every entity that streams content over the internet to use their proprietary technology to prevent its capture. The top companies served with the C&D order were given 10 days to respond.
More details at App Scout (http://www.appscout.com/2007/05/is_a_200_billion_suit_headed_m.php).
OMG! I really, truly thought I had heard it all. This is one ballsy attempt for a struggling company to get publicity and attempt to extort revenue from those with deep pockets.
What’s wrong with this picture? Licensing fees are being paid, and if some have their way, these fees will go much higher later this summer–so high, in fact, that the whole issue of streaming musical content on the internet could be moot, as providers of streaming content will likely go out of business if forced to pay the exorbitant rates that have been forced on them, rates much higher than even traditional broadcasters pay…but that’s another story.
Apparently, MRT believes the protection of digital streams is insufficient (they got burned a few years ago when Microsoft made some changes to their Media Player, which circumvented copy protection in use by MRT’s parent company, The Museum of Musical Instruments (MOMI)). Because of that, they felt the need to develop a DRM technology optimized for streaming content, and that they believe they have the only technology that will protect streaming content–hence their desire to force everyone to purchase and use their DRM technology to the exclusion of all others, and will sue for billions if they don’t get their way. Gee, to have been the proverbial fly on the wall in those meetings!
One line in App Scout’s article made it abundantly clear: “…the companies may be sued for not infringing upon MRT’s technology, a rather novel take.”
To read MRT’s side of it, spokesman Hank Risan wrote this OpEd piece for Arianna Huffington’s blog site.
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