TC/DRM in Government newsletter 40, 3rd August 2007
LINKS
++01 NZ's Copyright Amendment Bill
Below are links to Peter Griffin's blog on the Select Committee's report on the Copyright (New Technologies and Performer's Rights) Amendment Bill, and to the report itself. Also included is a transcript of Bruce Simpson's commentary on www.aardvark.co.nz, no longer available online.
According to the blogs, some of the key features of the report's recommendations are:
- Format shifting of music is allowed
- Format shifting not allowed for video (how are you going to use your DVDs when the technology becomes obsolete?)
- Vendors can 'contract out' from the format shifting provision, e.g they can include a clause in their content's EULA forbidding format shifting, and this clause will be legally-enforceable
- Bypassing DRM is not permitted
Link to Griffin's blog (well worth a read):
http://tinyurl.com/yp77cz
Link to the Select Committee report:
http://tinyurl.com/ypft7p
The following text is commentary from Burce Simpson's Aardvark site, posted on 30 July 2007, but no longer accessible on the site.
'Proposed NZ Copyright Law Disadvantages Consumers 30 July 2007
Parliament has been considering some sweeping changes to our copyright laws now for quite a while.
The existing law really hasn't kept up with changes in technology, which has turned almost every man, woman and child in the country into lawbreakers of some kind.
Rip that CD to your iPod and you're breaking the existing law.
Copy that Nemo DVD so the kids can watch it in the holidays without ruining the original and you're also in what is potentially very big trouble.
So, with some of these things in mind, a sweeping range of changes has been mooted, to allow for such things as format-shifting, backing up your expensive software disks, etc.
Unfortunately, some of these reforms don't really go far enough and there are still some major worries for consumers that don't look as if they're going to be addressed any time soon.
In this Select Committee report just published, it has become obvious that there's still some work to be done.
Although there's good news in this report -- such as axing the 2-year sunset clause relating to format-shifting, other aspects are not so good.
The most worrying aspect is that of "contracting out".
As most people/consumers are aware, there are some laws that the seller can not dodge.
For example: If you buy a brand new product, it must be suitable for the purpose for which it was intended - that's the law. Even if the retailer says "no guarantees, no returns" they still can't opt-out of this provision of our consumer protection law - and that's a good thing.
Imagine if simply placing such a sign in your store meant that you didn't have to provide a warranty or even guarantee that the item would do what was claimed...
You can bet on the fact that there'd be massive rise in the amount of junk that was sold and the number of businesses that shifted that junk.
Now when it comes to copyright, the law is supposed to provide protection for the intellectual property owner, while also ensuring that anyone who purchases items to which those laws apply, also have some rights.
The proposed "format-shifting" clause is a great example.
It effectively says that consumers who buy their music in one particular format are legally entitled to convert it to another format for their own use (or the use of their family/household).
That sounds great doesn't it?
It means that at last you can rip your favourite CD to MP3 or whatever other format your portable media player supports. Even better, it means you can rip your brother or sister's CDs as well!
However, if my reading of the proposed amendments is correct, even though this right may be enshrined in law, it's not immutable and can be contracted-out of.
If you buy a CD under the proposed changes, you may find that it contains a small clause in the end-user license agreement that says "format-shifting forbidden".
By simply adding those words, the copyright owner can usurp what you thought was a right in law.
By simply adding those words, it once again would be illegal for you to rip that CD so it could be stored on and played by your iPod.
Now, given that most music labels are moving to (also) selling their product through services like iTunes, what do you think they're going to do?
Of course they'll exercise their right to contract-out of the format-shifting provisions of the new law. They'll want you to buy a version on CD *and* pay again to get a version for your iPod. They'll want your mother to pay too if she wants to listen to the same tracks on her iPod.
So it would appear that the new copyright changes appear very much skewed towards protecting the publisher at the expense of the consumer.
Having a format-shifting provision in the law is useless if the publishers can (and doubtless will) contract-out of that provision.
And I'm pretty pee'd that there's no provision for format-shifting video material. What's going to happen to your old DVD collection (which could constitute a value of many thousands of dollars) in 10 year's time when you can't buy a traditional DVD player?
Are we expected to just throw those valuable disks in the rubbish and buy new copies on whatever happens to be "format of the day" at that time?
And why should we have to pay full retail price to buy another copy of Nemo just because one of the kids wrecked the original? What makes video content so much different to audio when it comes to format-shifting?
Then there's the evil issue of TPM (Technological Protection Measures), an example of which is the dreaded DRM (Digital Rights Management).
Even if a publisher doesn't force you to contract-out your format-shifting rights, you can't copy that disk if it's protected by some form of DRM. If you want to copy it for some lawful purpose, you'll have to get the necessary information or work done by someone who is specified by "the Governor-General" or "by Order in Council".
So only those "approved" can tell you that holding down the shift key when you insert a copy-protected CD will usually allow you to copy it with your standard duplication software" - oh dear, I'm in trouble now!
But, on the good side, those "approved" folks will not be allowed to charge you too much for this information/service - the proposed new law says so.
What's your take on the Select Committee's report?
Are you concerned that those with the copyright hold all the cards and can make you effectively sign away your right to perform any of the "permitted acts" (such as format-shifting) listed in the legislation?
Should copyright law also consider the rights of the consumer as well as those of the IP owner? If not, why do we even bother with such provisions as format-shifting and fair-use?
Will this amended legislation mean that most good honest Kiwis are still forced to break the law in order to enjoy the music and video they've bought and paid for?'
++02 ABI Research - expect hardware-assisted security in consumer electronics
"There are basically no secure processors in consumer electronics right now. They will start showing up in commercially available devices in the next couple of years, and will take hold rapidly starting in 2009," says principal analyst Steve Wilson.
This hardware-assisted security will find a home in PCs, portable video players, and digital media adaptors, as it already has in cable set-top boxes and elsewhere. "Hardware features supporting security have already been embraced in the PC environment for business-class devices," says Wilson, "and are penetrating mobile handsets. The pressure to create more secure networks for content distribution is what will drive PC and CE manufacturers to use more secure platforms. Don't expect Hollywood to start releasing DRM-free movies."
Full article at:
http://tinyurl.com/yvu6ff
++03 BBC to meet with open-source advocates over iPlayer
The Open Source Consortium has complained to the BBC that the iPlayer - software that allows users to catch up with missed TV shows for up to 30 days after they're screened - will only run on Windows. Members of the BBC Trust will meet with OSC representatives to discuss their concerns.
The BBC has plans to support other platforms (e.g. Mac and Linux), but is hampered by a lack of DRM systems that will run on a wide-range of platforms.
More from ArsTechnica's Nate Anderson at:
http://tinyurl.com/2duxgt
++04 PDF spam
The link below is to a story about a large-scale move to PDF spam. It's not a TC/DRM story itself, but highlights the constant drive by spammers and malware developers to identify and use new vectors. Hence the need to inspect TC/DRM communications to ensure they haven't been hijacked for such purposes.