[10841] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
CCIA statement on BPDG final report.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Will Rodger)
Mon Jun 17 16:38:47 2002
Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 14:18:13 -0400
From: Will Rodger <wrodger@pobox.com>
To: cryptography@wasabisystems.com
All --
We sent this to the Broadcast Protection Discussion Group Friday. The BPDG,=
=20
of course, is the Hollywood-backed process to, somehow, keep the studios'=20
movies from being pirated over the Internet. Some say it's just the ticket=
=20
to avoid things the recently-introduced CBDTPA. A report from the=20
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.
--------------------------------------------
CCIA Statement on the BPDG 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 as partners but as parties from which to extract only profits will=20
breed contempt for law as surely as Prohibition ever did, and thereby=20
encourage 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
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