Apple sued for NOT using DRM

My father was a lawyer. And an honest one at that. No, "honest lawyer" is NOT an oxymoron. However, many in the legal profession appear dedicated to making it so. Consider this case where a company is suing Apple, Intel, and others for NOT using their technology. The DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) made it a crime to knowingly bypass a DRM (digital rights management - controlling whether you gave access to a given file) technology without the permission of the copyright holder of whatever is protected. This has been used to run companies out of business that allow ripping of copy-protected DVDs, for example. In this new case, a company has engineered a technology to control and limit users ability to "rip" streamed videos (like YouTube, for example). Most companies have chosen NOT to use the software - presumably because either it does not match their business model or they simply feel it is ineffective. So now, the company is claiming by NOT licensing their technology (i.e. paying them to use it) they are "bypassing" this DRM scheme.

This is like using a law against breaking into someone's house to force all homeowners to buy locks for their front doors from every lockmaker in town. Here is hoping the case is quickly dismissed with prejudice.