SunnComm International Inc. was the company that developed and owned the MediaMax technology software package, which was sold as a form of copy protection for compact discs. MediaMax Technology [1] is the exclusive sales and marketing arm for SunnComm's MediaMax suite of products, and is "on track"[2] to merge with SunnComm.
Both companies received attention in 2005 due to its involvement in the Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal.
SunnComm developed its technology primarily for BMG Music which is one of the largest record companies in the world. In addition to its copy limitation technology, the company produced companion computer sessions designed to operate in a PC or MAC environment giving consumers additional artist content. The consumer brand for the technology was called MediaMax and it was included on over 25 million copies of CDs released by some of most popular music artists in the world including Dave Matthews, Foo fighters, Sarah McLachlan, Anthony Hamilton, and Velvet Revolver. SunnComm's technology served to limit the number of copies a CD buyer could make with their CD and was sold to record companies as a means of slowing down music piracy.
In 2005, a UK company called First4Internet introduced a competing copy control technology called XCP. At that point in time, the more tested SunnComm technology was included on over 25 million commercially available artists recording for more than 50 different record companies around the world. However the newly introduced technology from First4Internet included a type of protection that utilized root kit methodologies which made the technology impossible to remove once it found its way to a consumer's computer. The inclusion of this rootkit technology infuriated rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation who called for an immediate recall of all First4Internet technology from the shelves.
At this point in time, Sony Music and BMG were in the throes of a merger. Sony had placed its copy protection bets on First4Internet (the newer technology with the controversial root kit). However, BMG's people believed SunnComm's MediaMax to be the stronger technology since it had been successfully tested and utillized over a much longer period of time. When the rootkit configuration was discovered in First4Internet's XCP technology by consumer groups in late 2005, the public push-back from the rootkit fiasco was so great that the now-head of both Sony Music and BMG, Sir Howard Stringer, made a decision to stop using copy control technology altogether.
It should be worth noting that SunnComm's product - MediaMax - was never recalled and albums containing the technology can still be spotted from time to time in music stores. CDs containing the MediaMax technology include a special notice on the album back cover. In contrast, First4Internet's XCP was recalled immediately and cash refunds and "bonuses" were issued to buyers of CDs which included their technology. Because both technologies were utilized by the now-merged Sony-BMG, the public, and some press, remain confused to this day about the events contributing to "The Great Root Kit Fiasco."
SunnComm, under its new name, Altitude Organic Corporation still houses a collection of optical media technology within its Tranzbyte Division, which it is currently attempting to market in Asia.