EFF's CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT against SONY

This only a part of the 30 page complaint filed by EFF. You can download the PDF and read it or Join the lively conversation going on at the Groklaw. There you can read the complete transcript, if you don't have PDF software. In any case I think it is a wortwhile visit. You can read about the other evil empire, SCO at the same time.



CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT 1
Robert S. Green (State Bar No. 136183)
Jenelle Welling (State Bar No. 209480)
Avin P. Sharma (State Bar No. 233328)
GREEN WELLING LLP
595 Market Street, Suite 2750
San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone: (415) 477-6700
Facsimile: (415) 477-6710
Cindy Cohn (State Bar No. 145997)
Fred von Lohmann (State Bar No. 192657)
Kurt Opsahl (State Bar No. 191303)
Corynne McSherry (State Bar No. 221504)
ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Telephone: (415) 436-9333
Facsimile: (415) 436-9993
Reed R. Kathrein (State Bar No. 139304)
Shana Scarlett (State Bar No. 217895)
LERACH COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER
RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP
100 Pine Street, 26th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 288-4545
Facsimile: (415) 288-4534
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
ROBERT HULL, JOSEPH HALPIN and
EDWIN BONNER, on behalf of themselves
and all others similarly situated
Plaintiffs,
v.
SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
CORP., SONY CORPORATION OF
AMERICA, and BERTELSMANN, INC.
Defendants.

Case No.
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Plaintiffs, by and through their attorneys, bring this action on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, and allege against Defendants as follows:
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT 2
INTRODUCTION
1. By including a flawed and overreaching computer program in over 20 million music CDs sold to the general public, including California residents, Sony BMG has created serious security, privacy and consumer protection problems that have damaged Plaintiffs and thousands of other Californians. At issue are two software technologies –MediaMax and Extended Copy Protection, also known as XCP – which defendant Sony BMG claims to have placed on the music CDs to restrict consumer use of the music on the CDs but which in truth do much more, including monitoring customer listening of the CDs and installing undisclosed and in some cases hidden files on users’ computers that can expose users to malicious attacks by third parties, all without appropriate notice and consent from purchasers. The CDs also condition use of the music on unconscionable licensing terms. These, plus other problems caused by Sony BMG’s inclusion of this software, are in violation of California law and public policy. After a series of embarrassing public revelations about security risks associated with the XCP software, including warnings issued by the United States Government, Microsoft and leading anti-virus companies, defendant Sony BMG has taken some steps to respond to the security risks created by the XCP technology. It has failed, however, to address security concerns raised by the MediaMax software or the consumer privacy and consumer fairness problems created by both technologies.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE
2. The jurisdiction of this Court arises under Code of Civil Procedure § 410.10 because Defendants conduct business in and sell a substantial number of audio compact discs in the State of California. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this Class and the representative action pursuant to
8. Defendant Sony Corporation of America is the U.S. subsidiary of Sony Corporation, a multinational corporation based in Japan. At all times mentioned herein, Defendant Sony Corporation of America, is and at all relevant times was, a New York corporation, with its principal place of business in New York, New York.
9. Defendant Bertelsmann, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, a multinational corporation based in Germany. At all times mentioned herein, Defendant Bertelsmann, Inc., is a Delaware Corporation with its principal place of business in New York,
New York.