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Sony Rootkit Allegedly Contains LGPL Software

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the this-keeps-getting-funnier dept.

Deaths Hand writes "According to this Dutch article the Sony DRM software (or rootkit, if you may prefer) contains code from the LAME MP3 encoder project, which is licensed under the LGPL. However, the source code has not also been distrbuted, hence breaching the license. Here is an english translation of the page." So apparently Sony violates your privacy to create a backdoor onto your machine using code that violates an Open Source license. This story just keeps getting stranger.

5 of 623 comments (clear)

  1. Sons of bitches by Beatlebum · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Sons of bitches

  2. Re:Uuuuuh by pla · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    but you must still distribute the sources of at least the free software (free as in RMS).

    Thus explaining why every single open source project includes the full GCC source tree with it?

    Sony did a very bad thing, and should suffer greatly for their actions. But this particular part of it strikes me as a non-issue, unless we have some proof that they modified Lame before linking against it.

  3. Re:Code vs metadata by Serious+Simon · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    How do you know the executable is not included? And if you are correct, this would mean that only this specific version of LAME can be recognized. That does not make sense.

  4. Keeps on getting stranger by MobKiller · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    I heard that the developpers of the rootkit eat babies for breakfast

  5. Re:Thank god! by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    They're not stealing code, they're infringing on the author's copyrights by not respecting the license under which the code is be distributed (in exactly the same way people who "share" Sony/BMG music via p2p etc infringe on Sony/BMG's and the the artists' copyrights).

    +5, Pedant