The Electronic Frontier Foundation are calling on EMI to commit to not take legal action against computer programmers who 'investigate' their copy-protection software. The London based major has said it plans to start putting copy-protection software onto more releases this year, despite the fallout that followed SonyBMG's use of so called rootkit copy protection technology last year, which turned out to potentially damage users' computers, and therefore proved very embarrassing (and expensive) for the major. EMI stress that the copy protection software they plan to use, developed by Macrovision, does not use rootkit technology, and does not have the problems associated with the SonyBMG software.
By 'investigate', of course, the EFF really mean 'hack'. Many a computer programmer loves nothing more than getting a CD with a new kind of copy protection software on it, and attempting to find a way around it. Some label execs and technology firms in the past have threatened to take legal action against programmers who deliberately try to hack their software, especially if they publish information about any successful hacks. However, the EFF points out that it was independent computer programmers trying to hack SonyBMG's rootkit technology that discovered the potential harm it was doing to the record label's customers' PCs.
With that in mind, the EFF has written to EMI asking that it "publicly declare that it will not take any legal action against computer security researchers interested in investigating copy-protection technologies used on compact discs released. Unfortunately, because some copy-protection vendors have leveled legal threats against security researchers in the past, researchers may be reluctant to examine EMI compact discs. While researchers may be put off by legal risks, criminals intent on exploiting security vulnerabilities, of course, will have no such legal compunctions".
EMI are yet to comment.