INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Future Of Secure Digital Music Initiative Grim
Feuding Industries Reach DTV Piracy Accord
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Gates Takes Aim at Digital Divide
BROADCASTING
Canada's High Court Bans Foreign Satellite-TV Signals
Most Commercial Broadcasters Will Miss Deadline For Digital
Television
PRIVACY
EPIC Testifies at Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Online
Personal Privacy Act
NONPROFITS
Study Helps Find Ads That Work
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
FUTURE OF SECURE DIGITAL MUSIC INITIATIVE GRIM
After four years working towards a goal of ending Internet music piracy, the
Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) has called it quits. SDMI was
comprised of the record industry and some technology companies whose goal
was to create a secure environment where music could be safely offered
online via unbreakable code. The plans to digitally watermark audio files or
wrap them in code only SDMI compliant players could recognize was
overwhelmed by market forces. Music device makers who did not want to miss
out on consumer demand and struggles amongst the major record labels
contributed to the demise of the initiative. According to Jonathan Potter,
director of the Digital Media Association, SDMI was the Recording Industry
Association of America's attempt to "reverse physics... and it was an
attempt to use the cloak of technology to really try to impose rules on the
Internet and content owners." A new organization, the Digital Media Device
Association plans to continue the work of SDMI by developing specifications
for playing digital music on portable devices.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/04/29/sdmi.htm)
FEUDING INDUSTRIES REACH DTV PIRACY ACCORD
Entertainment and consumer electronics industry struck an agreement late
last week on standards for preventing digital TV piracy. Executives from AOL
Time Warner, News Corp. and Panasonic/Matsushita Electric asked House
lawmakers for legislation to codify their agreement. However, there is
concern from some industry leaders that the standards could prevent
consumers from recording programs for viewing at a later time. Philips
Consumer Electronics CEO Larry Blanford called for the establishment of a
forum that would examine how standards would affect consumers' rights to
record digital works for personal use, an activity that is currently
accepted under the "fair use" laws. Said Blanford, "The process by which
decisions are being reached is not open or fair...(and is) being decided by
a few companies through secretive contractual agreements." While all parties
agree that some legislation is required, Blanford warned that it is critical
that Congress assure open and transparent negotiations. "Consumers are going
to speak," said Blanford. "There's already a fairly sizable revolt going on.
If we don't get it right, your inboxes are going to be very full."
[SOURCE: Washington Post; AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49941-2002Apr25.html)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
GATES TAKES AIM AT DIGITAL DIVIDE
At the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition conference Digital
Connections, Bill Gates promised to help usher in the digital age for people
of all economic standing. Gates, the keynote speaker, said the high-tech
industry needs to keep the cost of technology low in order to bring more
minorities on board. Said Gates, "I think the solutions here involve both
creating the demand and creating the supply." Gates stated that he wanted to
ensure that schools around the country keep up with the rapid growth of his
industry.
[SOURCE: Daily News, AUTHOR: Ron Harris (Associated Press)]
(http://www.dailynews.com/business/articles/0402/26/biz02.asp)
BROADCASTING
CANADA'S HIGH COURT BANS FOREIGN SATELLITE-TV SIGNALS
A Canadian Supreme Court ruling has removed ambiguous language that allowed
U.S. satellite-TV equipment dealers to provide services to Canadians. The
ruling states that foreign satellite-television signals are not legal in
Canada and supports efforts to promote Canadian programming. Of the more
than 700,000 Canadian homes that receive U.S. satellite signals, many are
pirating the signals. Officials in satellite, cable, film and television
industries will urge the Canadian government to stop independent dealers
from selling signal descrambling systems. Despite the ruling, many are
skeptical about how to stop satellite piracy. Richard Rex, the owner of a
satellite store in British Columbia and defendant in the Supreme Court case
said, "I don't think you can stop it. There's no place for it to go but
underground." Rex plans to challenge laws that block foreign programming,
saying, "In Canada we hold true to our hearts this thing called freedom." He
maintains that blocking foreign programming runs contrary to supporting the
free choice of Canadian citizens.
[SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mark Heinzl]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB102002447981731800,00.html?mod=technolog
y_main_whats_news)
(requires subscription)
MOST COMMERCIAL BROADCASTERS WILL MISS DEADLINE FOR DIGITAL TELEVISION
A report issued last week by the General Accounting Office found that 74
percent of the commercial television stations that were supposed to be
emitting a digital signal by the May 1 regulatory deadline would be unable
to do so. The report said most of the delinquent stations had cited the high
cost of new technology. In addition to offering crisper images, reduced
interference and the prospect of viewers communicating through the set much
the way they now do on the Internet, digital broadcasting significantly
frees the airwaves for more productive use by other industries. Once digital
penetrates 85 percent of the nation's viewing market, the law requires
broadcasters to surrender their analog-spectrum licenses back to the
government to be reissued to other commercial ventures at auction. As a
result, there is concern that a long digital transition will hamstring the
economy. "Spectrum is critical for us to have economic growth," said Blair
Levin, a former top official at the Federal Communications Commission who is
a regulatory analyst at Legg Mason. "To the extent it is tied up, it
represents a huge drag on the economy."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/29/technology/ebusiness/29TUBE.html)
(requires registration)
PRIVACY
EPIC TESTIFIES AT SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE HEARING ON ONLINE PERSONAL
PRIVACY ACT
Marc Rotenberg, Executive Director for the Electronic Privacy Information
Center (EPIC), testified last week that the new privacy bill was an
"important step forward for privacy law in the United States." Rotenberg
raised concerns that, with the Internet, a piecemeal approach to forming
privacy laws has been taken. The result is a lack of public trust and
confidence in Internet privacy. This, Rotenberg stated, is "central to the
growth of electronic commerce and the online marketplace." EPIC voiced
support for the bill's distinction between Personally Identifiable
Information (PII) and Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (SPII),
the first being an "opt-out" category for consumers and the second being an
"opt-in" category. EPIC also suggested that better research into privacy
technologies could diminish the need for further Internet privacy
legislation. The full testimony and additional information about the Act are
available at EPIC's website.
[SOURCE: EPIC]
(http://www.epic.org)
NONPROFITS
STUDY HELPS FIND ADS THAT WORK
A recent report, "Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes", published by
communications consultant Andy Goodman, attempts to help nonprofits develop
effective ads. Ruth Norris, a senior program manager at the David and Lucile
Packard Foundation, which provided a grant for the report said, "The
environment in which non-profit organizations compete for the public's
attention is overloaded with messages...If they don't understand their
audience and what kind of message will resonate with them, they will miss
their chance." A few of the mistakes Goodman saw in much of the non-profit
advertising were "headlines that ramble forever, reams of dense text,
layouts that give the eye no clue where to begin."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: John Boudreau]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3159360.htm)
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