JOHN MALETTA, Individually and as Representative for all others similarly situated and the General Public.This is a national class action against:

SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT CORP., SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA, and BERTELSMANN, INC.

on behalf of all those who allege to have purchased one or more SONY music CDs with the "rootkit" program. In 2003, SONY began to distribute certain CDs to the public which contained a software technology called Extended Copy Protection ("XCP"). The program allegedly allowed SONY to manage the digital rights of the CD contents and prevent copying of the CD beyond a certain amount of times. SONY was alleged to have failed to disclose to the public that when downloaded, XCP also installs a hidden "rootkit" program, which is disguised as software designed to play music. Once installed, the "rootkit" program hides itself within the computer and can potentially cause numerous problems, such as an increased risk of third-party attacks and significantly degraded performance of one's computer. The nature of the "rootkit" program makes it extremely difficult to remove without causing significant damage to one's computer system. The suit asks for an equitable relief, injunctive relief , declaratory relief, punitive damages, exemplary damages, compensatory damages, cy pres recovery, restitution and disgorgement of money received by Defendants as a result of their wrongful conduct, attorneys' fees, pre-judgment interest and costs of suit.