September 23, 2003
DVD Licensing and SCO as a Verb
My mom sent me this Robert X. Cringely column from Infoworld. Of interest:
“The owner of an unnamed online adult video store says a DVD licensing group is trying ‘to SCO’ him. Attorneys for the DVD6C Licensing Agency (which includes AOL Time Warner, IBM, and Toshiba) have demanded proof that the discs he sells are covered under its DVD licensing agreement. Apparently the attorneys couldn’t reach the makers of the videos, so they’re going after the retailer instead, demanding royalties of 5 cents per disc. Sounds like the corporate types are trying to grab a piece of the action.”
It’s crazy enough that (as I was told recently) you’re strictly liable for distributing infringing content. But you’re also in violation of a license that you weren’t a party to? Does that hold any legal water? And would that mean that, even if you were selling non-infringing content, the DVD6C can at any time ask you to prove that it was also properly licensed?
Filed by Derek Slater at 3:20 pm under General news
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