As the debate about intellectual property heated up, the Sony Corporation made a controversial decision to bundle an anti-piracy software program with some of its CDs, which caused many to cry foul.

As states and consumer advocacy groups began to take action against Sony for its anti-piracy software, the company reneged and suspended the production of CDs that included the program.

Well, all right Sony, this program should never have been bundled with any CDs in the first place. It violates basic rights to privacy that consumers expect to have once intellectual property is purchased legally. While it is understandable that Sony wants to protect its products against the rising use of peer-to-peer networks and illegal piracy, it cannot use an iron-fisted approach that violates consumer rights.

Sony went so far overboard with the XCP software, which used rootkit techniques similar to those used by malicious programs such as viruses to cloak the software from users that it bordered on criminal.

In fact, a number of organizations and states began litigation processes aimed at preventing Sony from bundling this software with its CDs.

The Texas attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit which said in part that the software “violated a new Texas law protecting consumers from the hidden spyware.” Texas said Sony essentially used “cloaking” components which opened users’ computers up to attacks from viruses and other malicious programs when users attempted to install music onto their computers.

It doesn’t end there. Lawyers in California and New York filed class action lawsuits on behalf of consumers citing similar circumstances. According to a Nov. 8 Washington Post blog by Brian Krebs called Security Fix, the California lawsuit, filed by attorney Alan Himmelfarb, alleged Sony violated at least three California statutes, including the Consumer Protection against Computer Spyware Act, which protects consumers against “software that takes control over the user’s computer or misrepresents the user’s ability or right to uninstall the program.”

Conveniently enough, Sony decided to eliminate this software after these lawsuits were filed and complaints against the company mounted from such sources as Microsoft and President Bush.

Of course, this is part of a larger debate about music piracy.

Sony’s need to protect its artists and products against illegal piracy must be balanced with a consumer’s right to utilize the property without being subjected to undue monitoring.

Copying CDs, in essence, is the same as making a mix tape for a friend in the days of audio cassettes. Music was still sold despite the consumer’s newfound ability to copy and recopy their cassettes.

While the quality of analog recordings is far below digital recordings, one must remember that during the time of analog technology there were no other options, much like with today’s proliferation of digital recording technology.

If blank audio cassettes didn’t kill the music industry, why assume that piracy and blank CDs will?

The next time Sony tries shady, underhanded techniques to protect its products, perhaps it will think long and hard about it.

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