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Sony BMG sues CD vendor over rootkits

Entertainment company says vendor breached terms of license agreement.

Robert Vamosi Former Editor
As CNET's former resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security.
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Robert Vamosi

Sony BMG Music Entertainment is suing an antipiracy CD software company claiming that the technology provided was flawed. In November 2005, researcher Mark Russinovich discovered hidden files left behind on computers when certain Sony copy-protected CDs were played. The subsequent consumer complaints and government investigations, says Sony, cost the entertainment company millions of dollars in losses.

Now Sony BMG has filed a complaint against The Amergence Group, formerly SunnComm International, a company that produced the piracy-protection system known as MediaMax CD. According to the Associated Press, Sony BMG is seeking $12 million in damages for unfair business practices and for breaching the terms of its license agreement.

The Amergence Group told the Associated Press it would fight the allegations and suggested that lawsuits against Sony BMG's use of copy-protected software involved Sony's use of other technologies.