Preliminary Settlement Filed in Sony Suit

Lawyers in a class action lawsuit filed against Sony BMG last month have submitted a preliminary settlement, which calls for Sony to stop manufacturing CDs with XCP and MediaMax DRM, provide replacement discs, and make cash payments to affected customers.

Lawsuits were filed on November 14 in New York and other states by Girard Gibs and Kamber & Associates, and class action status was granted December 1. The cases claimed that Sony's digital rights management, which attempts to stop computer users from copying a CD's audio tracks to a hard drive, is invasive and damaging to computer systems.

Sony employed technology from First 4 Internet (F4I) that uses a "rootkit" to hide the DRM and prevent its removal. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that Sony's other copy protection software, SunnComm MediaMax, also poses a security risk and installs without a user's permission.

The two sides met in early December and began "virtual round-the-clock" negotiations about reaching an agreeable settlement. According to the settlement filing viewed by BetaNews, the goal was to provide prompt relief to affected customers and "limit the risk that these consumers' computers would be vulnerable to malicious software."

The settlement terms include all customers who "came into possession of or otherwise used" at least one CD with MediaMax or XCP software on it since August 1, 2003. Sony BMG resellers and distributors are not included, nor are former and current employees of the company.

Sony will continue its exchange program to replace XCP affected CDs with "clean" DRM-free copies and enable customers to download MP3 versions from its Web site. In addition, the company will offer a choice of two incentive packages to ensure XCP CDs are removed from the market.

"Incentive #1" will provide customers with a cash payment of $7.50 and a free download of one album from a list of more than 200 titles. "Incentive #2" removes the cash payment but allows for downloads of three albums.

The downloads will be handled using a promotion code with three major music download services, of which one will be Apple's iTunes. Promotion codes will be valid for six months. Owners of MediaMax CDs, meanwhile, will be offered MP3 versions of the music and one free album download.

In order to be eligible, an individual must return the XCP laden CD to Sony, or provide the company with a receipt showing the return or exchange of the CD at a retailer after November 14. A claim form will be required, as will verification that XCP was uninstalled or updated.

As part of the settlement Sony will continue to issue the XCP Update software, which removes the rootkit cloaking mechanism, and make available a full uninstaller. An update to correct the MediaMax vulnerability will also be issued, and Sony has agreed to work with security professionals to ensure the software is free of known vulnerabilities.

In addition, the three defendants have agreed not to use the data collected from MediaMax and XCP, and will no longer collect personal information from any copy protected CD without a user's express consent. An independent third party will be hired to verify this requirement for 2006 and 2007, and the results will be posted on Sony's Web site.

The defendants will also waive certain provisions of the XCP and MediaMax license agreements, including the restricted use of audio files and requirement that the DRM be updated.

Until 2008, Sony has agreed not to manufacture or distribute CDs with the XCP software, and will no longer manufacture MediaMax 3.0 or MediaMax 5.0 CDs. Unlike albums with XCP, MediaMax CDs currently in circulation will not be recalled.

If Sony decides to ship CDs with new copy protection software before 2008, it must ensure the DRM will not be installed without proper consent, make an uninstaller readily available to customers, and ensure it will not create known security vulnerabilities.

The company has additionally agreed to collect only limited information, such as IP address and data on the CD itself, and will include "a written disclosure in plain English that the CD contains content protection software and a brief description of the software."

If approved, the class will be notified of the settlement terms through e-mail and advertising, and a hearing will be scheduled for a final approval. The current terms do not include an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of costs, which could be in the millions.

As class members will release Sony BMG, F4I and SunnComm of all claims by agreeing to the settlement, they may opt out. If more than 1,000 individuals decide to opt out, Sony could withdraw from the settlement. F4I and SunnComm may also choose to be excluded before January 16, 2006, which would leave the companies open to individual lawsuits.



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Pioneer Launches One of Industry's First PC-Based Blu-ray Disc Drives

Revolutionary Technology Results in Five-fold Increase of Storage Capacity

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announced one of the industry’s first Blu-ray Disc computer drives, expected to revolutionize digital and high-definition media storage. The new Pioneer BDR-101A will utilize shorter wavelength blue lasers in order to store up to 25 gigabytes of information on a single layer Blu-ray Disc. It is expected to begin shipping in the first quarter of 2006.

This first generation product will be targeted primarily to professional users and serious enthusiasts, generally the first to adopt new technology. In particular, content creators will depend on Blu-ray Disc writers to test and evaluate high definition consumer Blu-ray Disc titles during the authoring process before replication. The drive will come equipped with a data recording application to transfer digital files to Blu-ray Discs.

As the market for high definition video camcorders grows, users will increasingly rely on the Blu-ray Disc drive to store massive amounts of HD video. Likewise, a person with a television tuner on his or her personal computer could use the drive to record high definition television shows for later viewing. The drive also will be able to play consumer Blu-ray Disc movie titles on BD-ROM discs and will play and record standard DVD media.

As one of the first products to utilize Blu-ray Disc technology, the drive significantly increases storage capacity, while reducing the number of discs currently needed to back up computer hard drives, digital files and applications.

“Storage capacity in a stable medium is critical,” said Andy Parsons, senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “A few years ago, no one could imagine needing more storage than available on a CD-R. Yet today, we need multiple DVDs just to back up the numerous photo and video files on our computers. Blu-ray Disc technology fulfills the rapidly growing need for more storage space and Pioneer is proud to be one of the first companies bringing it to market.”

The half height BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc/DVD writer will read BD-ROM/R/RE, DVD-ROM/DVD-R/DVD-RW and +R/+RW discs. It offers the following write speeds:

BD-R/RE (2X)
DVD-R/+R (8X)
DVD-RW/+RW (4X)

About Pioneer
Pioneer has been an innovator of optical disc technology since it brought LaserDisc, the precursor to DVD, to market in 1980. Pioneer went on to introduce the first DVD writer for computer use in 1997, the first DVD recorder as a VCR replacement in 1999, the first DVD/CD writer for home computer users in 2001 and surpassed 5 million sales of DVD writers in 2003. The company now leads the market with the introduction of this new Blu-ray Disc drive. Pioneer Corporation is one of the Blu-ray Disc Founders.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and its U.S. Web address is http://www.pioneerelectronics.com. Its parent company, Pioneer Corporation, is a leader in optical disc technology and a preeminent manufacturer of high-performance audio, video and computer equipment for the home, car and business markets. The company focuses on four core business domains including DVD, display technologies, Digital Network Entertainment™ and components.


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DVD pirates take over

Its an intense atmosphere and the unspoken rules are clear. Don't block the view of anyone, keep your chatter to a minimum and once you've moved you've forfeited your space.

Sounds like a description from a movie theatre or maybe a night out at Queen's Hall but it's really one of a familiar sight in downtown Port-of-Spain.

From the corner of Charlotte Street and Independence Square to outside City Gate on South Quay "street cinemas" are popping up all over the capital city.

With cheap pirated copies, ranging from $10 - $25, of almost every Hollywood and Bollywood movie released or otherwise they have grown in popularity and have single handedly contributed to what can only be described as the DVD movie craze sweeping the island.

Not to mention the players themselves have fallen to universal affordable prices starting as low as $449.00.

But from where exactly do pirated copies of unreleased movies originate?

The web site piracyisacrime.com stated pirated copies are usually camcorded at early cinema screenings, downloaded on to discs from the Internet, or copied from a pre-release version of the film missing many of its final special effects or soundtrack.

"It is disheartening that people would choose to go the illegal route and support piracy," the manager of Sheltech Electronics, a legit DVD movie supplier, said under conditions of anonymity on Monday.

He said the Colsort mall based store had lost hundreds of dollars in revenue in recent months as a result of the increased level of piracy.

"We've lost a lot on the sales but we do have customers who actually do prefer original movies and as I always tell them it's the best way to go because inferior copies can damage the lens of your player over time," he said.

With original movies costing from $120 to $250, based on the date of release, who can really blame nationals from seeking a cheaper alternative.

But should you really be worried about pirated copies damaging the lens of your DVD player?

CCN IT specialist Gregory Tang Ming disagreed with the store owner.

Tang Ming said the storage of DVDs not the legitimacy of the copy can affect the lens of the player.

"Lets face it, DVDs were designed to be played in DVD players so whether it's an original copy or a burned copy it will not affect the lens. Now if the DVD becomes warped because of poor storage only then can I see it affecting the eye of the lens," he said.

He said a warped DVD, which can occur to all DVDs regardless of authenticity, becomes bent out of shape because of heat and can scratch the eye of the lens during playback.

So, we've learnt that not only are pirated DVD's readily available and significantly cheaper than original copies but the rumour about them damaging your system is hog wash.

But what about the legitimacy of their sale?

According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), piracy cost Hollywood a reported $3.5 billion in 2004.

Not to mention a huge headache from the mammoth task faced and massive drain on resources expended in an unsuccessful attempt to quell their trade.

COTT president attorney Allison Demas knows better than the most about the headaches one can suffer in attempting to fight piracy.

In recent times COTT has locked horns, in what appears to be a losing effort, with the perpetrators in what it called a relentless war against music and video pirates in T&T.

Demas, however, says she's optimistic about the muscle impending constitutional reform can bring to her organisation on the local front.

"Section 5 of the copyright act refers to the unlawful duplication of audio visual recordings so yes what they (the DVD vendors) are doing is illegal, but the problem with the legislation as it stands is in order to prosecute the holders of the intellectual property rights of these movies, namely Hollywood and Bollywood, must want to prosecute and the fact is they simply don't because they believe Trinidad is just a small market," she said.

However, she said legislative reform giving local copyright arms the right to prosecute is currently before a cabinet appointed committee.

Part V clause 21 subsection 1 of the copyright act of 1997 states a performer shall have the exclusive right to do, authorise or prohibit the broadcasting or other communication to the public of his performance.


"We can prosecute locally produced material, however, so vendors selling all those DVDs with Learie Joseph and other locally produced shows can be arrested," she said.

Strong words from the COTT president but until legislation is passed or Hollywood decides to prosecute, DVD vendors can go on having a field day selling their pirated copies.

Well, since the foreign films companies have shown no real interest in prosecuting then what's the big deal?

"The big deal is our local DVDs are being pirated and if we want to encourage the development of our local film industry we have to be concerned about that and put legislation to stop all piracy not only local so our film industry can grow and gain international respect," Demas said.

One such local producer to be directly affected by DVD piracy is Frank Martineau of Spectacular promotions.

Martineau said he was appalled by the open practice of selling illegal copies of his companies productions namely the Learie Joseph concert series.

"Its defiantly outrageous how they do this thing in the view of the authorities as if they are untouchable," he said. "It's hurting the local entertainment industry and I find it strange a number of local artistes will allow this to be happening openly."

Meanwhile one store owner in Port of Spain refused to comment on the issue although the shelves of the store was lined exclusively with pirated copies of music and movie DVDs.

"Everything in here legal, no further comment," the store owner said with a laugh.

Another pirate, or DVD vendor as he preferred to be called, said he depended too heavily on the money earned from the trade to just give it up.

"I know it's wrong but is it right to just take away a man bread," the vendor, who preferred to withhold his identity said.

"They should have some system where they would give people a chance to register and make the business legal because not everybody could go out and get a job."


Source: Trinidad Express


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Blu-ray Disc considered “The New Higher Definition Format”

At Twentieth Century Fox Studios on November 29, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) gave an update on their blue laser technology. BDA felt that it was time to highlight its progress in bringing “the new high definition format” to market. Andy Parson, Senior Vice President of Advanced Product Development for Pioneer Electronics, opened the meeting by giving an overview of the state of Blu-ray development.

Mr. Parsons noted, “There’s no format war looming because it’s not Blu-ray vs. HD DVD.”

Apparently, 90 percent of the CE industry and seven movie studios now back Blu-ray Disc. And most of the IT industry (except Microsoft) also supports Blu-ray Disc.

Mr. Parsons said, “It’s simply Blu-ray versus standard definition DVD… Currently, DVD has 50,000 titles presently available, and both formats will co-exist for several years to come with new BD players supporting both formats. BD players make the perfect complement to new HDTVs that are being purchased by consumers.”

Lastly, Mr. Parsons noted that the group has been working with retailers for the past two months to get them prepared for the Spring 2006 launch of Blu-ray Disc.

Blu-ray is now called “future-proof” by the consortium because it has the capability to play back both Blu-ray discs and standard definition DVDs within one player. It was even shown that a DVD-9 layer can be laid down onto a Blu-ray disc to make a true hybrid disc. On the upper layer, DVD-9 content (DVD-9 layer is the standard definition version of the movie or video) is stored, and on the lower level Blu-ray content is available. It was pointed out that this is all on one side of the Blu-ray disc, and was completely different than what HD DVD has proposed for a hybrid disc, which makes the end user flip the disc over to play a standard definition or high definition version of the same movie. Of course, this goes back to Blu-ray’s original point of superiority regarding storage capability, in that there is enough storage capability on one side of the disc to hold a Blu-ray version, a standard definition movie, a completely interactive menu and a navigation system.

Shifting gears somewhat, the discussion then focused on some digital rights management issues that have recently been singled out in the press by Microsoft and others. The first area touched upon was Mandatory Managed Copy (MMC). MMC is a function of AACS, which is the basic content protection system for Blu-ray Disc. Once compliance and robustness rules are received from the AACS founders group, the Blu-ray Disc Association can include MMC in the Blu-ray Disc format. These rules are expected shortly. A second DRM issue also was discussed: BD+. BD+ is an additional layer of content protection for BD-ROM titles. Reportedly, BD+ is totally transparent to the end user, and does not interfere with “untampered with” titles or players. It was pointed out that an Internet connection is NOT required for BD+ to operate or playback of any BD title. It was further noted that BD+ will not interfere with mandatory managed copy.

The meeting then shifted to a discussion on authoring, interactivity and navigation. It should be noted that a prototype Panasonic Blu-ray Disc player was used in the demonstrations discussed below. However, it also was noted that within the next few weeks, Sony would be releasing the initial authoring system for use by all of its members who will produce software titles for Blu-ray Disc.

In the beginning of DVD, everyone thought that with the addition of chapters setup, along with additional material in navigation form, made DVD truly cutting-edge. But compared to the “space age” interactivity of the Blu-ray Disc menus, menu systems demonstrated by both 20th Century Fox and Disney, standard DVD menus are static and flat. Most of the studios are using Blu-ray Java for their navigation systems. Disney beats to its own drummer and prefers another scheme called IHD, which has not yet been sanctioned by the BDA.

Mr. Mike Dunn, President of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, took over the presentation for the studios. Fox has taken the Charlie’s Angels-Full Throttle title and turned it into a test disc for members of the BDA to troubleshoot. The “works in progress” new menu systems are extremely fluid and offer full HD resolution throughout, including all supplementary material. Instead of simply static thumbnail images of a scene from a chapter, for example, you now have a completely interactive experience. The Blu-ray disc can do several things simultaneously with moving images instead of frozen ones. It was very compelling in making the experience satisfying for the end user.

Disney then took the stage. Mr. Bob Chapek, President of Buena Vista Entertainment, demonstrated supplementary material from an interactive game from Aladdin in which the user flies on a carpet. In the standard definition DVD, the user would have to stop and click on an icon to go to the next level. In the Blu-ray disc version, the user simply flies through it in full HD resolution. It was eye-popping. Disney also used material from Pirates of the Caribbean for various uses of additional supplementary material. Disney made it clear that they were not using Blu-ray Java for their menu and navigation systems, but something that they were working on separately. They would not confirm or deny that it was IHD.

Apparently, some of the new Blu-ray Disc players will also include Internet capability for the downloading of movie trailers, and other supplementary material such as a new commentary from a director, star or someone else associated with a particular production—all in complete HD. There could even be a “live” webcast from Cinderella’s castle that could be accessed via the Blu-ray Disc and the Internet connection. However, it was pointed out that complete movies could not be downloaded, nor was it considered practical for the foreseeable future.

Mr. Parsons then returned to the podium and announced that the upcoming CES would be for the launch of Blu-ray Disc. He noted that all of the companies that are part of the BDA will be making announcements at CES regarding model numbers, prices, and title availability. Basically, he’s saying, “Stay tuned.”

At the conclusion of the demonstrations, the floor was opened for a Q & A session. It was learned that there is still no word as to whether or not Blu-ray Disc players will include component video outputs. Clearly, there was no word on any compromises with the HD DVD camp, as Blu-ray Disc feels that it’s basically “dead and buried.” It should be noted, though, that several companies have shifted alliances somewhat by being in both camps. These companies include Warner Bros., Paramount and Thomson. One of the slides showed Thomson in the hardware camp for Blu-ray Disc, but not HD DVD. Thomson was queried, and it was found that it now supports both formats. Thomson plans an HD DVD player in the first half of 2006, and a Blu-ray Disc player in the second half of 2006. The bottom line is that it seems that momentum is simply for Blu-ray Disc.

While it was noted that engineers are putting in 80-hour weeks to get Blu-ray Disc launched, the question is whether they can really do it in time for a Spring 2006 launch. Maybe it’s wishful thinking on their part, but there are things to be considered. It was noted by industry analyst Richard Doherty of Envisioneering that there simply aren’t that many blue laser diodes available for the type of launch the BDA is proposing.

Another thing to consider for Sony is whether their gaming sister company takes all of those diodes for PS3, which is also supposed to launch in Spring 2006, and also plays back Blu-ray Discs. My guess is that the product won’t really launch until E3, which will be held next May. Would Sony really let its sister gaming company take the lead on this technological development? And how will Sony feel if it doesn’t have the first consumer Blu-ray Disc player out there because someone else beat them to it? Maybe they’ll be happy with the royalties and patent revenue. Clearly, companies like Panasonic want to have the first consumer players available in the spring. And let’s not forget Pioneer, LG or Samsung. I do know that Philips will be shipping the first PC Blu-ray Disc drives in early spring, according to a source at Philips.

So, these next few months will be critical, as everyone tries to get their ducks in a row. Can history repeat itself? Can Blu-ray Disc harness lightning in a bottle again like DVD has? Only time will tell. But the bottom-line is that this is an exciting time to be developing next-generation high definition digital TV products that will take us well into the third millennium.



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Panasonic starts pilot production of 50 GB Blu-ray Discs

New dual-layer spin coat technology doubles disc capacity

Torrance, CA (December 5, 2005) — Panasonic has modified its existing pilot production line for single-layer Blu-ray Discs, called BD-ROM, so that it is able to replicate dual-layer BD-ROM discs with 50 gigabytes (GB) of storage capacity. The new pilot replication line is housed within the Panasonic Disc Manufacturing Corporation of America, which is located in Torrance, Calif. Single-layer Blu-ray Discs have 25 GB of storage capacity for holding video and other data, while current DVD discs have 8.5 GB of storage at most.

The doubling of BD-ROM disc storage capacity is enabled by spin coating technologies developed by Panasonic that create two recorded layers on a single side of a Blu-ray Disc. In the process, readily available inexpensive UV curable resins are used in the creation of the space layer, cover layer and hard-coat, resulting in a reduction in disc replication costs. Video and other data is then embedded in the layers for playback later using a blue laser-equipped Blu-ray Disc player, recorder or BD-ROM drive-equipped PC.

The Torrance pilot production line is able to produce dual-layer BD-ROM discs with the attachment of a dual-layer replication line module to the existing single-layer line. Single-layer BD-ROM discs are currently being produced on the pilot line with more than 80% yield rates. Panasonic expects to provide sample dual-layer BD-ROM discs to the industry for testing by the end of this month.

“Working closely with the movie studios and our replication partners, Panasonic was able to foresee the need for greater disc capacity to give consumers a much richer user experience,” said Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, director of Strategy & Alliances, Panasonic Hollywood Lab.

Panasonic expects to highlight the new replication process for dual-layer BD-ROM discs at the Blu-ray Disc Association’s booth (#9444, Main Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center) during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 5-8, 2006.

The additional capacity will allow movies and other High Definition video titles to be stored, along with value-added features, on a single Blu-ray Disc. The BD-ROM format is expected to succeed DVDs as the preferred medium for High Definition movies and other packaged entertainment content for the home as the nation moves from analog TV to digital and High Definition Television.

About Panasonic

Best known by its Panasonic brand name, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of $81.44 billion for the year ended March 31, 2005. The company’s shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, New York (NYSE:MC), Euronext Amsterdam and Frankfurt stock exchanges. For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company’s website at www.panasonic.com.



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Pirates on the movie seas make it rough for me

Unless you walk around with an eye patch over one orb and a parrot on your shoulder, you probably don't think about piracy very often. But Hollywood contemplates it every day, and now I do.

The awards season is upon us, and members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association are getting a flood of year-end DVDs to consider. Unauthorized duplication of movies has become such a tide of illegal income that paranoia reigns.

This year, I was sent coded DVDs and a coded Cinea player. Not only can these "for your consideration" DVDs be traced to me should anyone copy and sell them, but they play only in my machine. Sean O'Connell, my BFCA colleague in Charlotte, also has a coded DVD player, and we can't share these watermarked discs.

Not all studios have bought into this viewing method, but they probably will. Hollywood estimates $3 billion was lost to pirates in 2004; I've seen bogus discs everywhere from the streets of Greenwich Village to an airport store in Nairobi, Kenya. ("No bootleg," the clerk repeated, as I studied a hand-drawn image on the cover of a Harry Potter movie -- which was still playing in U.S. theaters.)

Of course, almost all these pictures are duplicated before they reach critics' groups or Academy Award voters. Some pirates get inside help from studio employees; some bribe projectionists in theaters; some use tiny camcorders to shoot amid the audience. (Those are the DVDs where heads bob in front of the actors.)

I don't mind the inconvenience of all the coding, though. If you dupe a DVD without permission or buy an illegal copy from someone who did, you're a thief -- not a rebel, not an anti-hero ripping off corporate pigs, just a cheap crook. And 40 years of moviegoing have taught me not to root for the bad guys.


Source: The Charlotte Observer


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DRM's Far From Perfect

“If consumers even know there’s a DRM, what it is and how it works then we’ve already failed”
—Peter Lee
Disney Executive

Before the advent of the digital age, it was easy for a content publisher and owner to control the distribution of information. Any and every form of content, be it music, cinema, books or photographs had to be printed on paper or recorded on films or magnetic tape. It had to be physically published and distributed.

While these distribution packages could be duplicated, it was complex, expensive and slow. The quality of the duplicated work was often poor with each successive copy getting worse. Large-scale duplication was not feasible or profitable. Technological limitations ensured that the producers of content as well as its publishers were protected against unauthorised users.

The mass replication age

The computer age led to a digital revolution. Digital media started gaining preference and popularity over analogue media. Digital content could be easily produced with superior quality, manipulated and enhanced. Most of all, it could be reproduced without any loss of content quality.

On top of it, the Internet’s rise made it no longer necessary to make or sell actual objects such as books, tapes, and CDs. A digital copy of the file can be sent anywhere instantly using Internet, broadband connectivity and file-sharing software. As data is no longer associated with a physical object, it does not deteriorate or perish. However, the best part is quick and free delivery.

Battle for rights

Media moghuls finally woke up to the digital revolution’s threats as it hurt them where it affected them the most—their bottomline. Thus began the media industry’s struggle to censor the free spread of digital content. These were opposed tooth and nail by the advocates of freedom of information on the Net. DRM technology was devised by the media industry to regain lost ground.

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. It is a general term for the methods of controlling and protecting digital content including digital audio, video, images as well as other forms of digital content such as e-books. DRM allows media owners and publishers to control the use, duplication and distribution of their digital content.

Evolution of DRM

Many DRM systems have come and gone because they have fallen short of expectations. Despite spending astronomical amounts on R&D, these have failed to protect rights of content owners and publishers. Nor have they been able to respect the rights of the legitimate purchasers of the digital content. In fact, the only people who benefitted were organised crime syndicates responsible for mass copying and duplication of digital content for the piracy market.

One of the first DRM technologies to arrive on the scene was the hardware dongle. It was a separate piece of hardware to be attached to the computer before the authorised user could use digital content. Later modifications include USB and smart card devices. Installation and set up of these devices was complex and it interfered with the proper use of many existing devices. However, cracks were available to circumvent such hardware. So, software and digital piracy flourished despite the existence of hardware protection.

A controversial use of DRM was CSS (Content Scrambling System). Though it was aimed at preventing mass piracy, it ended up victimising the authorised user. It was implemented by the DVD Forum on movie DVDs. The DVDs were encrypted according to location that they were sold at. This restricted the use of legitimate purchasers. The user fraternity came up with software tools like DeCSS, which enabled users to make quality digital copies of the DVDs. The most glaring flaw of this technology was the ease by which it was bypassed.

Another DRM technology used is digital watermarking. Each disk or storage media has a unique ID. The name and address of the purchaser is taken at the point-of-sale and entered into the database along with the unique ID of the media. Any copy of the digital content will include the unique ID, which can be viewed by the publisher and they could catch hold of the purchaser whose product was used for making the multiple copies.

Sony’s XCP controversy

A British company First 4 Internet developed extended copy protection (XCP) for Sony BMG (henceforth called only Sony). It was marketed as XCP-Aurora. A legitimate purchaser of Sony’s CD is prompted to install a program misleadingly named as Plug-and-play manager which remains active in the user’s computer even after the Sony CD is played.

Whenever any audio CD was played it intercepted all commands to the CD drive and gave random noise if any other music media player tried to access the audio CD. This software also concealed its activity like the rootkit software used by blackhat hackers to hide tracks of its presence. It did this by hiding all processes, files and registry keys starting with $sys$ from the user’s view. The rootkit could be exploited by crackers to hide their files and processes after they have gained access to a user’s system. This flaw was specific only to Windows-based systems. Neither the XCP nor the rootkit had any effect on other operating systems. This was exposed between October 31 and November 7, 2005 by sysinternals.com, vnunet.com and the Boston Globe which classified the software as spyware.

In response to the negative publicity, Sony released a software utility to remove the rootkit component from the affected Windows-based computers. But this utility did not remove the rootkit. All it did was unhide the hidden files installed by the rootkit. It also installed extra software which could not be removed. On 16 November, 2005 US-CERT said that XCP used rootkit technology to hide files from the user and that this technique is a security threat to the users. They also said the uninstall option provided by Sony made the system more vulnerable. So on 18 November, 2005 Sony provided a removal tool to actually remove the rootkit component from any affected Windows-based computers. It also announced that it had recalled all unsold CDs from retail outlets and will provide the affected purchasers with new CDs sans the rootkit.

Legal implications

The Digital Millenium Copyright Act was passed in the US. It is now illegal to bypass a DRM system. Even more controversial DRM regulations are on the cards including adding copy prevention codes to broadcast HDTV signals.

DRM takes away many basic rights given by copyright laws. For instance, copyright contents become a part of public intellectual property after the expiry of the copyright period so anyone can access it freely. But DRM systems do not have any time limits and there is no method to remove the copy control mechanism after the copyright period expires. Copyright law does not prevent resale of a copyrighted work. Copying is legal in exceptional cases like fair use or fair dealing. But DRM prevents authorised purchasers from exercising these rights.

The states of California, New York and Texas in the US as well as the Italian government have initiated legal action against Sony BMG and First 4 Internet for invasion of privacy and unauthorised tempering of user’s computers during its rootkit controversy.

Cases of DRM abuse are well-known and range from the absurd to the bizarre. For instance in 2000, Adobe Systems released Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland with DRM control. It disabled the text-to-speech feature normally available in Adobe’s eBook reader. The book was released with a notice that ‘this book cannot be read aloud’.

Another example is New York University’s Kraiser Dental School. The dental textbooks are available only on DVD and students have no choice but to buy DVDs. Those DVDs are readable only and that too on authorised computers and for a limited period of time. After that period the DVD expires and all information in the DVD becomes unavailable. This DVD contains many books that are not available on paper at all.

India so far does not have a Digital Copyright Act. “Digital content is covered in the amendments made to the Copyright Act and the aggrieved party can move civil or criminal court and seek remedy for infringement of copyright. Combating digital or software piracy is also covered in the Information Technology Act. However, given the presence of many global media players in India, introduction of a new law on DRM is not above the realm of possibilities,” says Mumbai based advocate Sitaram Bhamblani of Bhamblani & Company.

Those in favour of DRM are of the view that DRM concepts, security and cryptography-based technology are well understood and it is possible to sort out the initial problems faced by the authorised purchasers of digital content. They also say that if the creator or authorised distributors of digital content are not given the power to control distribution and replication of their content, then creativity will be adversely affected.

Those against it feel that the DRM issue is gone too far and violates the right to privacy of authorised users and purchasers. It has turned many normal user activities into illegal acts. DRM component of a software will take control of user device and restrict its action with scant regard for the user’s wishes. The user will have no choice, as he will not be able to disable or modify those restrictions. They also say that giving control of user computers to a third party (content publisher or creator) may lead to abuse which can go well beyond enforcement of copyright.

DRM is also being called as the first step towards Internet censorship. It is a barrier to free market and free information flow. In Europe, DRM schemes are seen as an abuse of copyrights and are nick named as eSlavery.

What next?

DRM is poised to become the next battleground between the content owners and publishers on one side and the users on the other. The content owners and publishers are determined to regain lost ground and make up for the loss of revenue that is a result of the digital revolution. The box above gives a preview of some of the schemes being cooked up on this front.

Content biggies are in no mood to give any rights for free and want totalitarian control over digital content in or out of cyberspace. On the other hand, users are determined to use content on their own terms. And as it has happened before, the initiatives will keep shifting from side to side. Only time will decide who will emerge as the clear winner.

Source: Express Computer Online


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