Apple, Microsoft and Adobe were served Cease and Desist orders from Media Rigths Technologies (MRT) and BlueBeat.com. The companies that brought us iPod, iTunes and Windows Vista Operating System are accused of failing to include copy protection measures in their products.

Adobe is being added to the C and D and potential litigation as well for the Real Networks, Flash Player and Real Player which avoides using X1 SeCure Recording Control. According to MRT and BlueBeat.com this allows users to circumvent copy protection. It’s interesting that Real Player is being included: Does anyone actually use that anymore?

Again the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) of 1998 is being called upon to try and protect a content production company. DMCA prohibits products o technologies designed to duplicate digital copyrighted material. But the DMCA has been taken way too far in any many circumstances and lent itself to violating its customers fair use of purchased material.

The threats behind this round of cease and desist to Apple, Microsoft and Adobe are very real. MRT and Bluebeat have stated that if the Cease and Desist orders aren’t honored they will seek a federal court injunction and possibly seek statutory damages.