Media Rights Technology, a DRM crippleware vendor, has launched what may be the dumbest DMCA legal threat ever. They are threatening Adobe and Real with lawsuits for failing to buy their crummy technology. Forbes says that Media Rights Technology advanced the theory that since the DMCA makes it illegal to break DRM, companies with broken DRM have to buy someone else's DRM.
Well, it's a theory.
Media Rights Technologies (MRT) and BlueBeat.com have issued cease and desist letters to both companies and to Adobe Systems Inc (nasdaq: ADBE – news – people ) and Real Networks — which produce the Adobe Flash Player and Real Player respectively — for actively avoiding their X1 SeCure Recording Control, which they said is an effective copyright protection system.
MRT and Bluebeat said the failure to use an available copyright protection solution contravenes the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits the manufacture of any product or technology designed to circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a copyrighted work or protects the rights of copyright owners.
They said a failure to comply with the cease and desist order could result in in a federal court injunction and/or the imposition of statutory damages of 200-2,500 usd per product distributed or sold.
(Thanks, Tom!)
