Hidden Open Source Code In XCP Designed To Make CDs Work With iPods?

[Wilms]

Hidden Open Source Code In XCP Designed To Make CDs Work With iPods?

Surprises Contributed by Mike on Monday, December 5th, 2005

from the the-plot-thickens dept.

Just as the whole Sony BMG/First4Internet rootkit fiasco story was first breaking, there was another story making the rounds about how Sony BMG was specifically using the copy protection not to protect, but to try to pressure Apple into opening up their own copy protection scheme. ( http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2005/10/drm_crippled_cd.html )

Lots of people had complained about how Apple doesn't open up their copy protection, so no one else can create copy protected songs that go on the iPod. Apparently, the story goes a bit deeper than that.

Alex Halderman has been digging into the illegally used GPL code ( http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20051114/0011243_F.shtml ) found in First4Internet's XCP technology and discovered that it's designed to add a clone of Apple's copy protection to the music, ( http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=940 ) so that it could play on iPods. However, the code isn't used. It's there, and it's functional -- but it's hidden away.

So, either Sony hoped to be able to "turn it on" at some point in the future, if Apple ever agreed to do a deal, or they freaked out when they realized that First4Internet was using GPL code without obeying the license, and asked them to kill the "feature."

snip

http://techdirt.com/articles/20051205/1218217_F.shtml

[NVMojo]

1. very tricky!!