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Crippled CD Deemed Defective In France
Noryungi writes "The daily newspaper Liberation reports that at least one person got her money back, by suing EMI, no less. She was able to do that with the help of the largest consumer organization in France, which has its own list of articles on this subject.
So, French people who cannot read their copy-protected CDs can get their money back, but copy protection is not made illegal by the court decision... It's certainly a step in the right direction, though..."
For the French-impaired, an anonymous reader adds "The Register has a good article on EMI being forced to refund the cost of a copy-protected CD, because it was found to have a 'hidden defect' -- it wouldn't work on a car's CD player ... Is the tide changing?"
The spilling of the coffee wasn't what got her the large settlement.
Mcdonalds was selling coffee that was too hot for human consumption.
Also she wasn't actually suing for that much. She just wanted her medical bills paid. She was willing to settle for $20,000, but McDonalds refused. She was awarded 2.7 million punitive in addition to the $200,000 compensory. Later the 2.7 mil. was reduced to $480,000, and the $200,000 was reduced to $160,000 because the jury found her partially at fault.
The full story is here
On the main topic of your post (Sorry for addressing a side point, but I'm tired of that "She won millions for spilling coffee on herself" meme spreading unchecked.) the only thing that will get them to not make PC disabled CDs is if nobody buys them.