Some thoughts about Content protection and issues it faces
Please feel free to comment about this topic here.
thanks
Melih
Goodday Melih (entrepeneur of the year 2008),
I find the trouble triangle verry interesting and verry representative for the current situation in the content industry, however I do think there is an important party left behind wich could make the picture a square, let me explain:
The trouble with the “trouble triangle” is somehow ironically the triangle itself it misses a party, that party is the government. Yes! the government doesn’t include what piracy exactly is in this new digital age… The protecters of the publishers say everything which is having copyright and is being distributed via peer to peer and is uploaded automatically through that channel is piracy. Well here starts the discussion, some judges do not considder this as piracy, some higher judges do, some judges don’t know and this is different from country to country… In some countries even downloading is being considered as piracy…
In some countries there are new laws, like cutting of someones internet connection when that person is being caught on piracy, some countries just do not do anything…
There are differences in laws and counter meassures because there are many disagreements in the parliaments of the countries and this leads many times to a deadlock…
We all know what the users want… they just want an easy way to get the content they like, free or paid… but we all know when it is easy to get it free, we know what they will choose…
The manufacturers the ones who sell the mediums were the content gets on, just want to have a way to gain success and profit when the content is verry popular… so this party operates on both sides: If the content is free, they still benefit because the medium is necessary to enjoy the content… If the content is not free they will still benefit… so they are not really a serious party…
The real fight is between the government, publishers and users! If they still disagree with eachother and do not find a way out, there will always be piracy… hidden or visible… Maybe the solution is a controled way of piracy… similar like they do with drugpolicy and stuff…
When the manufacturers come with some solutions (under pressure of the publishers) we all know they will loose because the users and somehow the government is not happy with their solutions… You can think of the failure of DRM, the manufacturers just can not benefit, they mostly benefit when the users gets what it wants… and mostly it is free stuff…
ok, this is just my view on this… nobody has to agree with me (:WIN)
Thanks for reading!
Triple X
In a democratic world, I would not expect the Governments get involved in this kind of thing. Just like people can produce knives but the use of it could be for different purposes.
I do agree, if government enforced it, then the problem would be solved, however, as I said above, I dont’ expect governments to interfere at these level.
thanks
Melih
+1 I already have more government than what’s good for my health, :P0l no need to provide them with more ideas than they already have. Besides they can’t even enforce the already existing laws–since drugs are illegal they should be impossible to buy in the streets, and people wouldn’t be able to find them, right?
I hadn’t thought of this problem in this way, no wonder I’m not a security architect. ??? But the trouble seems difficult to solve: some users are already in an entente with publishers and so they don’t commit piracy (like me lately :a0), but of course there would be no problem if many weren’t; and even if hardware providers don’t encourage piracy, the only way they’re going to take the extra efforts and disturb their many customers that use pirated media, is if the publishers were willing to compensate for that. How would a hardware provider advertise to their customers that they’ll take measures (that would somewhat raise their prices) to make piracy impossible to their customers? And all the hardware providing competitors would have to do the same, if only one didn’t it would take over the market–even the black market.
I’m also thinking that for example some video consoles, that are manufactured under a monopoly, already have anti-piracy hardware. But there are people who can disable it so the user can play pirated games, and many even make money this way. So even an entente between publishers and hardware providers (or when both are the same company) can be cheated. :-\
By the way cool pic Melih, ;D but you’d have got better results if you had put the sketch on paper through a scanner. 
I guess the picture says it all.
IIRC in most cases users are out of this (lobbies and “wide alliances” permit this) except if the solution turns out to be exceptionally unbearable and fewer consumers will buy the merchandise.
Anyway most solutions so far limit fair-use.
I guess even governments can fit this scenarios as IIRC midi ringtones and music scores are not considered fair to use anymore and this did not happen by itself.
As I understand, now even recording for personal use a music aired on a FM/AM radio channel is copyright infringment. Laws evolved. :-\
As long as the users see and hear analogue, no protection can ever work.
you said it as long :-X
After this Output Content Protection and Windows Vista I guess only a mic could be used for audio files. :o
Audacity directly accesses the DAC in SB sound cards for recording through the stereo mixer. It doesn’t use the provided APIs but calls the hardware directly. Pretty hard to bypass this. 
Just forbid direct hardware access. Vista does that AFAIK.
Yep there is still some way left but the efforts made surely show a trend were users are out of the picture.
Right management is not a bad thing per se but copyright holders do have much of a dominant position and privileges than end users.
When a producer distribute an artist’s work there is a monopoly of sorts. :-\
I don’t think the solution is to be found in hardware or software because the problem isn’t there either.
Why do people steal content in the first place?
Because they cannot afford the content. Because it is considered cool to tease the big companies. Because people don’t want to buy an entire CD when usually just a few songs on it are really appreciated. Because publishers /labels are huge corporations earning billions and paying dividends to shareholders, thus not really making thieves feel guilty, quite to the contrary. Because singers and actors are all over the media, enjoying lives of luxury, again, not really making thieves feel guilty. Because when one downloads a song legally, there are often strings attached, like certain limitations which tell the buyer that the company thinks he might be a thief and distribute the stuff illegally. Because a large number of songs, especially older and rare ones, are simply not available for legal downloading. And maybe because digital to many people means not really existing, thus not worth anything.