EFF video (a must-watch if you're at all interested in such topics) on CBDTPA: http://action.eff.org/tinseltown/ Washington Post article on the Broadcast Protection Discussion Group's apparent impasse: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42099-2002May31.html --- Date: Sat, 01 Jun 2002 11:44:36 -0400 From: Will Rodger <wrodgerat_private> Subject: CCIA Statement on BPDG process To: politechat_private Declan -- We sent this to the Broadcast Protection Discussion Group yesterday. The=20 BPDG, of course, is the Hollywood-backed process to, somehow, keep the=20 studios' movies from being pirated over the Internet. Some say it's just=20 the ticket to avoid things the recently-introduced CBDTPA. A report from=20 the discussion group is expected Monday. Some participants have told members of Rep. Upton's subcommittee that we=20 will see a private-sector agreement to protect such content in the=20 immediate future. We doubt the future is so near. Will --------------------------------- CCIA Statement on the co-chairs final report The Computer & Communications Industry Association has been monitoring the= =20 BPDG process for several months. During that time we have been keenly aware= =20 of the difficulties of creating a digital rights management system that=20 could protect high-definition content while at the same time protecting=20 fair use for consumers and future innovators alike. The co-chairs report purports to do so, but falls far short, in part=20 because of the open-ended veto power it has given content owners over=20 technologies that could be used to infringe their copyrights. Philips=20 Electronics, among others, has already outlined the conflict that has=20 resulted from this arrangement. Such difficulties are a real concern: Intellectual property, after all, is= =20 a cornerstone of our industry and something without which we and our=20 members would have no business at all. But intellectual property in the United States is and always has been a=20 balance between owner and consumer of that property. Part of that balance=20 includes building technology and business models that account for the=20 interests of other industries and consumer themselves. History tells us=20 that juke box owners, piano-roll makers, broadcast music and cable TV=20 didn't just bring new media to consumers, but changed the way established=20 media did business, often with the help of the legal system. We see no such evolution in the BPDG. Instead of a process that embraces=20 new technology, we see one that attempts to keep it at bay. Worse, we fear the BPDG approach to intellectual property will ultimately=20 bring all of IP into ill repute. Maximalist approaches that treat consumers= =20 not a partners but as parties from which to extract only profits will breed= =20 contempt for law as surely as Prohibition ever did, and thereby encourage=20 the piracy this effort is supposed to prevent. The BPDG approach has been marred by repeated and credible claims of=20 back-room dealing by a small number of parties who have excluded most=20 participants from real decision making. Such closed-door talks raise not=20 only issues of fairness and copyright, but competition law as well. Over the years, CCIA has participated in numerous standards-setting bodies.= =20 Each has included numerous affected participants, all of whom worked=20 towards making systems more interoperable, not less. We call on all BPDG=20 participants to include more companies, more consumer advocates, and to=20 write strict sunshine rules so that all parties are included all= negotiations. We also call on participants to look to the market first -- and the=20 government last =96 to protect the legitimate interests of all stakeholders. Will Rodger Director Public Policy CCIA=20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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