January 11 -- Copy
protection mechanisms on current audio CD's have no chance of
success, in the opinion of Royal Philips Electronics. Philips
spokesperson Klaus Petri says its company counts on the fact
that the refusal of consumers will convince the music industry
to step back from copy-protected CDs. Petri said that Philips
could sue the manufacturers of CDs with copy protection (as managers
of the world-wide CD patents), because they would not correspond
to the standards. "those are silver disks with music on
them, but which do not resemble CDs".
February 8 -- Princeton
professor Edward Felten and his team of scientists said they
would not appeal a New Jersey federal court's decision to dismiss
their case against the RIAA. Felten announced the decision through
EFF, which has been representing his scientific team.
Although the RIAA admits that
it sent a letter to Felten last year warning him that he could
face prosecution under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
should he publish his research, the industry group later retracted
the threat, calling the letter a "mistake." That retraction,
coupled with assurances from the U.S. government that the
DMCA does not apply to scientific research, prompted the
New Jersey court to dismiss the case last November.
February 22 -- Fahrenheit
Entertainment, Music City Records, and Sunncomm have decided
to settle with the consumers who sued over the copy-protection
scheme on Charley Pride's CD A Tribute to Jim Reeves.
Sunncomm and Music City Records agreed to resolve the consumer
music "CD-Cloqueing" lawsuit by "providing better
notice and enhancing consumer privacy."
March 4 -- RIAA
explains "Why CD Copy-Protection is Necessary"
March 7 -- Rick
Boucher says he plans to introduce legislation banning, or at
least regulating, compact discs outfitted with anti-copying technology.
March 21 -- Security
Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA) is now a bill
in the Senate. Renamed the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television
Promotion Act (CBDTPA ),it prohibits the sale or distribution
of nearly any kind of electronic device -- unless that device
includes copy-protection standards to be set by the federal government.
Responding to concerns about
unauthorized sharing of digital media over the Internet, Sen.
Ernest Hollings introduced a bill that would require Silicon
Valley and Hollywood to agree on a standard to stop digital piracy.
The bill would require any digital device to incorporate copy
protection into the device.
"SEC. 101. PROHIBITION
OF CERTAIN DEVICES
(a) IN GENERAL.--It is unlawful to manufacture, import, offer
to the public, provide or otherwise traffic in any interactive
digital device that does not include and utilize certified security
technologies that adhere to the security systems standards adopted
under section 104."
"SECTION 107. ANTITRUST
EXEMPTION.
(c) EXEMPTION AUTHORIZED. -- When the Secretary finds that it
is required by the public interest, the Secretary shall exempt
a person participating in a meeting or discussion described in
subsection (a) from the antitrust laws to the extent necessary
to allow the person to proceed with the activities approved in
the order."
May 13 -- Certain
music CDs fitted with digital barriers to stop copying can also
cause some Apple computers to crash and refuse to spit out the
incompatible disc. The CDs are designed not to play in personal
computers as a deterrent to digital copying. Each CD comes with
a small warning label: "Will NOT play in PC/Mac". The
CDs can cause Mac computers to freeze and then reboot to a grey
screen, according to an Apple technical support report. The computer
may then refuse to restart until the CD has been manually ejected,
which may not be possible without opening up some parts of the
machine. However, the problem does not cause any permanent damage
to the computer.
May 20 -- Technology
buffs have cracked music publishing giant Sony Music's elaborate
disc copy-protection technology with a decidedly low-tech method:
scribbling around the rim of a disk with a felt-tip marker. Internet
newsgroups have been circulating news of the discovery for the
past week, and in typical newsgroup style, users have pilloried
Sony for using "high-tech" copy protection that can
be defeated by paying a visit to a stationery store.
May 24 -- MPAA
filed the "Content Protection Status Report" with the
Senate Judiciary Committee last month, laying out its plan to
remake the technology world to suit its own ends. The report
calls for regulation of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs),
generic computing components found in scientific, medical and
entertainment devices. Under its proposal, every ADC will be
controlled by a "cop-chip" that will shut it down if
it is asked to assist in converting copyrighted material -- your
cellphone would refuse to transmit your voice if you wandered
too close to the copyrighted music coming from your stereo.
