Kind of puts Sony in an interesting position... their defense against this could end up being part of precedent that weakens EU software patents... I haven't researched but based on other "intellectual property" actions in the past I assume they are pro-patent and have a massive portfolio.
Sony took this from the Guide "How to write abusive and unfair contracts". Seriously, it will be interesting to see how the class action lawyers will deal with this: I'm not sure the judge will like that kind of shadow manoeuvering, where the consumers see nothing coming.
It's more that Sony has effectively bought "justice" (i.e. a court decision) favorable to its interests by bringing overwhelming legal resources to bear.
I'm curious as to what exactly that agenda would be. Also, I think it is very much outside the realm of reason to think that Sony did this as a PR stunt. If they did... Well, Sony legal is probably not having a great Christmas.
It never ceases to amaze me how low Sony (and it's related companies) can go. What legal eagle thought this was a good idea? At least a normal business suit should have seen the marketing value.
I'm surprised the article didn't mention Sony suing the developers but also using the software. That seems like a "Classic" Sony move. I wonder if it's use violates the OSS license.
I do wish there was someone with Sony's PoV here to try to explain to us their rationale and how they hope to actually win this battle overall- as they can't really imagine that they can make the information go away with lawsuits.
And the last time that was tested with Connectix and Sony, Connectix won in the end but faced so many legal fees they still had to end up selling it to Sony and abandoning it.
It looks like Pamela Jones of Groklaw plans to cover this case in full. Based on her reporting, it doesn't look like things are going well for Sony so far:
A couple of decades ago I was in a business that competed directly with one of Sony's divisions (not gaming). Our products were doing extremely well. It's the old story of a small, underfunded, highly motivated team being able to run circles around a large competitor with lots of inertia and, shall we say, more bodies and less talent.
Anyhow, one day I got word from one of our partner companies that they were witness to Sony making an arrangement with a major reseller in that industry segment to not feature our products at the most important tradeshows in the industry in exchange for discounts and other compensation. They must have done that with multiple vendors because that year we went from being featured in dozens of booths to almost not having any product on the show floor.
I was absolutely incensed. The problem is, when you have asymmetry of financial and legal power of that magnitude the laws almost don't matter. When spending $250K on a retainer just so that a law firm will take your case puts you in financial peril, well, you have to choose your battles. They caused massive damage to us using such techniques.
Anyone who doesn't believe business is a bloody contact sport isn't in touch with reality. It can get brutally ugly. I have the scars to prove it.
I'm amazed at how consistently tone-deaf Sony is. It seems like they go out of their way to piss off their own customers and shoot themselves in the foot in public relations.
Can anyone (who is a lawyer, please!) comment on whether a similar claim can be made in the US? (I'm really not interested in keyboard lawyering or your opinion on what the law should be.)
Maybe I'm incorrect, but I recall reading (when Sony first implemented this clause) that Sony was only doing so because there was another company that provided a similar case in court, and won, and therefore they had precedent, etc. In that case it also explains why Microsoft also is able to introduce it, that being when something like this happens, they are able to refer to the original court case. I'm interested to see how this turns out.
They most certainly will pay $1000 to license the image, or change it, AND punish the person who did that... What makes you think Sony won't work they way every large corporation works in this respect?
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