Large companies such as Intel, IBM, Compaq and even Microsoft are trying to stop a plan that is heading to the US Congress. This plan should require every consumer electronic and PC manufacturer to include an anti piracy protection in the device.
The idea for these protections come from the movie and music industry but has not been backed by every media company, e.g. AOL Time warner, one of the biggest media companies in the world does not stand behind the plan in its current form.
The movie, music and technology industries have been trying for years, with only limited success, to agree on a standard way of protecting content from Internet and other digital piracy. A high-profile effort dubbed the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), intended to be a private sector version of the kind of technology effort Hollings' plan outlines, collapsed largely because of disagreements between technology and content companies. |
Hollings' plan would restart this process, this time with the force of law behind it, and apply it to all digital devices.
The early draft bill would require the technology industry to come to its own decision on a copy-protection standard within 18 months, or else have the government step in to mandate a solution.
The bill would bar the sale of any "interactive digital device" that did not have the anti-piracy technology built in. It would also be illegal to remove or disable the security technology as well as to remove the piracy protections from a song, movie or other piece of content.
Source: Cnet.com
