DMCA has Compliance Issues

Over at Life On the Wicked Stage they've noted that the Media Rights Technologies, MRT, has filed cease and desist orders under the DMCA against four companies; Apple, Microsoft, Real, and Adobe. MRT filed the order because these companies have avoided using MRT technologies in their products, somewhat effectively circumventing the DMCA.

"MRT asserts Apple, Microsoft, Real and Adobe have produced billions of these products without regard for the DMCA or the rights of American Intellectual Property owners, actively avoiding the use of MRT's technologies. Failure to comply with this demand could result in a federal court injunction to any of the above named parties to cease production or sale of their products and/or the imposition of statutory damages of at least $200 to $2500 for each product distributed or sold.

"Together these four companies are responsible for 98 percent of the media players in the marketplace; CNN, NPR, Clear Channel, MySpace Yahoo and YouTube all use these infringing devices to distribute copyrighted works," states MRT CEO Hank Risan. "We will hold the responsible parties accountable. The time of suing John Doe is over." (Text from PRNewswire)

 The threat seems to be a bid by MRT in a different direction, attacking the producers rather than the companies that rely on these products for copyright infringement. This threat will likely go nowhere, however it could signal a shift in the way the copyright war is being played out.