Tech Consortium Claims to Have Solved Intellectual Property Security Problems
Project Hudson, a tech consortium consisting of Intel Matshushita Nokia Samsung and Toshiba claims to have solved the problem of digitally securing intellectual property. The consortium says it will soon issue a new system for securing digital music video and software that offers content providers the first truly safe digital delivery system. If true the system neatly bypasses competing efforts most notably the Microsoft Digital Rights Management (DRM) scheme which has been the most successful intellectual property security system so far while ignoring other offerings from record companies RealNetworks, Apple Computer, and others.
Content should be as transparent as it is today with MP3 Leonardo Chiariglione an Italian electrical engineer who participated in the development of the popular but insecure MP3 digital audio compression scheme said. It should be movable anywhere and still be protected If we stay with digital islands people have a legitimate excuse for piracy.
The consortium plans to unveil its new security scheme at this week's 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas Nevada but the group has been petitioning record companies movie companies and other content creators in recent weeks to use its new scheme. The group says it can protect content on audio CDs, DVD movies, and portable audio video and gaming devices that use a wireless Internet connection. The system relies on Internet connectivity to securely share digital content.
In related news the recent crackdown by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lawyers on illegal music swappers has allegedly had the desired effect. The group issued a report this week stating that the number of Americans illegally sharing music online has dropped by half. The RIAA says that only 14 percent of Internet users downloaded music while online in December 2003 compared with 29 percent in May 2003. The report doesn't distinguish between legal and illegal downloading although researchers attribute the drop to fewer illegal downloads. The RIAA sued more than 400 song swappers last year before a Washington DC circuit court judge revoked the group's ability to demand user information from ISPs last month.
