Background On The Gaming Industry Information Technology Essay
Background of the Study
It is believed that video games had its beginnings in early cathode ray tube-based missile defense systems in the late forties. This is an amazing point, especially because of the time period it was claimed to exist. These were signs of a budding industry and of promising technology which were foreshadowing a distant future. Unfortunately, despite the claims and assertions, these are all unsupported by records of any kind. As a result, verification of the story is next to impossible. Regardless, whether or not these assertions have any factual basis, it cannot be denied that as time went by, more computer games were developed, and together with the advent of technology, they gradually increased in sophistication and complexity.
If there is something to be branded as the 'first', it should be "Tennis for Two". More than fifty years ago, before either arcades or home video games, visitors waited in line at Brookhaven National Laboratory [1] to play the game which was an electronic tennis game that is unquestionably a forerunner of the modern video game. [2] This is the first of its kind which has any record of its existence apart from the claims. The record even contains a demonstration, as well as photographs of the gameplay. Because of its pioneering feat, Creative Computing, [3] which was a magazine about using, programming, and playing with the first mass-marketed personal computers, [4] even featured it within its covers in 1982. [5] The credit given to the inventor was however short-lived, because of another person said to have documented an earlier game. But, in 1983 [6] it was again put at the top by the reprint of the same article by Video and Arcade Games, [7] in its spring issue. [8]
As to the game itself, "Tennis for Two" was first introduced on October 18, 1958, at one of the lab's annual visitors' days. Two people played the electronic tennis game with separate controllers that connected to an analog computer and used an oscilloscope for a screen. [9] William Higinbotham [10] was the game's inventor. [11]
From this point on, video games diverged into different platforms: arcade, mainframe, console, personal computer and later handheld games.
History of Video Games
The first commercially viable video game was Computer Space in 1971, which laid the foundation for a new entertainment industry in the late 1970s within the United States, Japan, and Europe. In 1971, Nolan Bushnell together with Ted Dabney, created the first arcade game. It was called Computer Space, based on Steve Russell's [12] earlier game of Spacewar!. The arcade game Pong was created by Nolan Bushnell (with help from Al Alcorn) a year later in 1972. Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney started Atari Computers [13] that same year. In 1975, Atari re-released Pong as a home video game. [14] Larry Kerecman, one of the first operators of video arcade games, including Computer Space, writes that:
The brilliance of these machines was that Nolan Bushnell and company took what was computer programming (in Space War) and translated it into a simpler version of the game (no gravity) using hard-wired logic circuits. The printed circuit boards that comprise electronics of these games use integrated circuits called small-scale integrated circuits. They consist of discrete logic chips and gates or gates, 4-line to 16-line decoders, etc. straight out of the Texas Instruments catalog. The shape of the rocket ship and flying saucer even are visible in a pattern of diodes on the PC board.
History of Gaming consoles [15]
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or modified computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device (a television, monitor, etc.) to display a video game. The term "video game console" is used to distinguish a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer, which has many other functions, or arcade machines, which are designed for businesses that buy them and then charge others to play. [16] It also defined as a dedicated electronic device designed to play video games. Often the output device is a separate television or a computer monitor. Once, video game consoles were easily distinguishable from personal computers: consoles used a standard television for display, and did not support standard PC accessories such as keyboards or modems. However, as consoles have become more enhanced, the distinction has blurred: some consoles can have full Linux operating systems running with hard drives and keyboards (like the Sega Dreamcast) (one university has even created a Beowulf cluster of PlayStation 2 consoles), and Microsoft's Xbox is basically a stripped down PC running a version of Microsoft Windows [17]
In 1972, the first commercial video game console that could be played in the home, the Odyssey [18] was released by Magnavox and designed by Ralph Baer. In 1976, Fairchild released the first programmable home game console called the Fairchild Video Entertainment System, [19] and later renamed Channel F. It was one of the first electronic systems to use the newly invented microchip invented by Robert Noyce for the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation that allowed video games to not be limited by the number of TTL switches. [20]
On June 17, 1980, Atari's "Asteroids" and "Lunar Lander" were the first two video games to ever be registered in the Copyright Office. [21]
In all the years of apparent prosperity, where the trend seemed to go nowhere but up, there were two noteworthy events in the gaming industry which paved the way for the modern concept of playing computer games to arise. 'Major Crash' was the name both were unanimously given, which indicates the substantial effect they inflicted, and the enduring result of their occurrence. The first major crash in 1977 occurred when companies were forced to sell their older obsolete systems flooding the market. Six years later a second, greater crash occurred. This crash-brought on largely by a flood of video games coming to the market-resulted in a total collapse of the console gaming industry worldwide, ultimately shifting dominance of the market from North America to Japan.
The video game crash of 1977 was different from the video game crash of 1983 in that the crash was not so much caused by games as it was caused by a single game/unit. Atari's Pong had become so popular that it was cloned until the market could no longer hold that many cloned consoles. This crash is not as well known as the 1983 one, since the video game market in 1977 was extremely small in modern terms, and mostly oriented towards adults. [22] While the crash killed the console gaming market, the computer gaming market was largely unaffected. Subsequent generations of console video games would continue to be dominated by Japanese corporations.
The video game crash of 1983 was the sudden bankruptcy of a number of companies producing home computers and video game consoles in North America in late 1983 and early 1984. [23] The crash has been attributed to a weak economy, poor quality of games (particularly the Atari 2600 versions of Pac-Man and E.T., but also many third-party Atari 2600 games) and very aggressive marketing of inexpensive home computers such as the Commodore VIC-20, Atari 800XL,Commodore 64, Tandy Color Computer and Texas Instruments TI-99/4A; the crash was probably caused by a combination of the three factors. [24]
Up until the early 1980s, personal computers had primarily been sold in specialty computer stores and at a cost of more than $1,000 USD. Since they generally had more memory available and better graphics and sound possibilities than a console, they permitted more sophisticated games and could also be used for tasks such as word processing and home accounting. Also, their games were much easier to pirate, since they came on floppy disks or cassette tapes instead of ROM modules. All of these factors made the home computers a better deal than a game console for most people.
The result was a massive shakeout [25] of the industry. Mattel, Magnavox, and Coleco all abandoned the video game business. Cinematronics went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and eventually closed. Computer sales were also affected, as the Coleco Adam, TI-99/4A, and the line of Timex-Sinclair computers were withdrawn from the U.S. market, along with a number of other smaller players. Atari nearly went bankrupt and was sold off by its parent company Warner Communications (now part of Time Warner).
The longest-lasting result of the crash was the shift of dominance in the home console market from the United States to Japan. When the video game market recovered in 1987, the leading player was Nintendo's NES, with a resurgent Atari battling Sega, also of Japan, for the number two spot. Atari never truly recovered, and eventually left the hardware business in 1996. One result of the crash was that the console companies instituted measures to control third-party development for their consoles, to avoid shoddily produced third-party games tainting the consoles' reputation, as well as to cash in on the success of third-party developers. Ironically, 1983 is by some considered a peak time in the history of arcade games, the home video game consoles' bigger stand-alone brethren located in diners, shopping malls, and video arcades. For example, the first real-time 3D arcade game was created that year (called I, Robot). [26]
Though several attempts would be made by North American and European companies, fourth generation of consoles, their ventures would ultimately fail. Not until the sixth generation of video game consoles would a non-Japanese company release a commercially successful console system. [27]
Background on Copyright protection
Media corporations have always used the term copy protection, but critics argue that the term tends to sway the public into identifying with the publishers, who favor restriction technologies, rather than with the users. According to GNU, [28] publishers' lawyers love to use the term "protection" to describe copyright. This word carries the implication of preventing destruction or suffering; therefore, it encourages people to identify with the owner and publisher who benefit from copyright, rather than with the users who are restricted by it. The term "protection" is also used to describe malicious features. For instance, "copy protection" is a feature that interferes with copying. From the user's point of view, this is obstruction. So we can call that malicious feature "copy obstruction." [29] Copy prevention and copy control may also be more neutral terms. "Copy protection" is a misnomer for some systems, because any number of copies can be made from an original and all of these copies will work, but only in one computer, or only with one dongle, or only with another device that cannot be easily copied. [30]
In general, right holders seek to control the use of their works in the online environment by utilizing specialized technologies. Technological Protection Measures take various forms and their features are continually changing.
These measures can broadly be grouped into two categories: first, measures that are deployed to limit access to protected content to users who are authorized to such access. Common access control features are, for example, cryptography, passwords, and digital signatures that secure the access to information and protected content. The second major group of technologies aims at controlling the use of protected content once users have access to the work. According to the corresponding license agreement, certain uses of protected content may be allowed for certain purposes. To make sure that these obligations are complied with and no unauthorized reproductions are made, the respective technological measures attempt to track and control copying, and thus prevent the user from surpassing the right he has been granted. Examples of such copy control measures are serial copy management systems for audio digital taping devices, and scrambling systems for DVDs that prevent third parties from reproducing content without authorization [31]
How the companies are being beaten
Video game piracy may not grab headlines, but it's just as rampant as piracy of music and movies. Despite extensive copy protections, some PC game developers believe that up to 90 percent of the people playing their titles never paid for them. [32]
There was an illustration of the moves of the hackers/modifiers vis a vis the manufacturers in this on going chess battle.
Nintendo
Method of attack: For the DS, hackers use software backup tools to slurp files off the original game cartridges; players then download them onto memory cards that fit the DS card slot. For the Wii, they use mod chips and homebrew programs like Wii Unlocker Ultra.
Most-pirated titles: Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (DS), 550,000 copies; New Super Mario Bros. Wii, 1 million copies
Defensive maneuvers: A posse of pirate fighters monitors and removes illegal copies from torrent sites. Nintendo also works with law enforcement to bust makers and sellers of mod chips and cards.
Sony
Method of attack: Pirates are having a tough time cracking the PlayStation 3's Blu-ray files, but it's easy to hijack the handheld PSP - probably the most hacked gaming device. Players download a version of the PSP firmware that's been modified to ignore DRM and load bootlegged games onto it.
Most-pirated title: Need For Speed Undercover (PSP), 800,000 copies
Defensive maneuvers: Most new PSP games require an upgrade that overwrites the hacked firmware. Sony has also released a new version of the PSP with an architecture that is supposed to foil hackers. Neither strategy has helped much.
Microsoft
Method of attack: Hackers remove the Xbox 360's DVD drive and tweak the OS to permit the use of "backup copies." For PC titles, they circumvent copy protections and share them on torrent sites.
Most-pirated titles: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC), 4.1 million copies; (Xbox 360), 970,000 copies
Defensive maneuvers: Many PC game developers are experimenting with subscription fees, è0 laWorld of Warcraft. For the Xbox 360, over 100 Microsoft staffers monitor the Xbox Live service and prevent 'modded' [33] consoles from logging on; hundreds of thousands of hackers (and cheaters) have been blocked. [34]
There is an abundance of means on how to hack into the abovementioned, as well as other consoles. Most of them are readily available on the internet, where the methodology is posted on a multitude of web sites [35] for use of the public.
In the Philippines
For starters, the Philippines has its share of problems following the growth of this illegal industry. It is mostly documented in terms of movies and music. However it must be noted that the medium upon which these are pirated, are in fact similar, if not identical to the one being used by the software market. From its beginnings up the present, the increase has been exponential. With the advent of optical media as the main item being used by the public, coupled with technological progress, it has indeed become one of the primary concerns of the country. According to the agency [36] tasked to police these activities:
By the year 2000, pirate copies of VCDs started to seriously compete with legitimate products for the market share. In 2001, the local film and music sectors started to lower the prices of VCDs and CDs, partly in answer to public clamor for more affordable prices. This initially caused a stir in both the film and music industries between international and local companies. International companies could not and did not want to lower their prices and wanted the local companies to keep prices in the "luxury goods" range.
The lowering of prices of local products helped ease public pressure for legitimate products to be more "competitive" in pricing with pirate goods. The wisdom of such a measure is, however, still a subject of strong debate within the industries concerned, because while public perception has been positive, the local film and music industries have had to take a huge cut from their profit margins in the hope of making up for it in terms of volume. [37]
Although this narration is silent on the status of software piracy, particularly in relation to video games, it cannot be denied that, as mentioned, the medium of such are the same. This means that the increase in the use and technological advances in this field will necessarily be useful to all the pirates, regardless of the identity of the product they produce illegally. A duplicating machine can reproduce 20,000 copies of music, film, games, and software per day. [38] So invested are business corporations and their nation-states that there is paranoia in protecting their objects of profit from any further loss. [39] Again, the mere decrease in price so as to make the legitimate products more competitive is a doubtful move, and there has been no clear beneficial effect on the industry it tried to protect. As reality would have it, pirates are cunning, and their items are definitely more appealing to majority of the public.
Paras, in his work, has analyzed that the problem is only growing, through the passage of time and specially with mankind's technological success. He has made several points, but among the most relevant:
[A]s to the contents of the copyright law, and especially its limitations considering the legitimate social interests and new possibilities of controlled usage of works, e.g., multimedia -- the fundamental thesis is that the law of copyright, considering its informative function, should in a wider sense, as it is the case now, give up the requirements of obtaining the agreement of the creator as a condition for manifolding and popularization of the work and that gravity of the property authorization of the author should be put forth on his rights to receive his fees. This basis is predicated on the changed possibilities of using the works, considering such ways of their manifolding and popularization as reprography, recording tapes, video cassettes, computerized information centers, CD-ROMs, cyberspace, Internet, Intranet, American Online and the like…." [40]
Furthermore, Amador in his work, [41] gives insight through an analysis of the law and relevant jurisprudence. In one case [42] it was emphasized that "[t]he economic philosophy behind the clause empowering Congress to grant patents and copyright is the conviction that encouragement of individual effort by personal gain is the best way to advance public welfare through the talents of authors and inventors in the science and useful arts." [43] The author goes on to quote that "[t]o encourage people to devote themselves to intellectual and artistic creation, Congress may guarantee to authors and inventors a reward in the form of control over the sale or personal commercial use of copies of their works." [44] As a result, it can be deduced that "[a] copyright, then, is not a right to do anything, but to stop others from doing something…Copyright therefore is a negative right." [45]
But the author [46] emphasizes that, in line with relevant case law, "[t]he primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors, but to promote the progress of science and useful arts. To this end, copyright assures authors the right to their original expression, but encourages others to build freely upon ideas and information conveyed by a work…It is the means by which copyright advances the progress of science and art." [47] In addition, the law must be read in conjunction with the changing times. It must be construed so as to accommodate development. Thus,
Creative work is to be encouraged and rewarded, but private motivation must ultimately serve the cause of promoting broad public availability of literature, music and the other arts…When technological change has rendered its literal terms ambiguous, the Copyright Law must be construed in the light of this purpose. [48]
Significance of the Study
The Philippines has been branded as a hotspot of pirated works, including software of all varieties. [49]
There is in fact copyright in video games, [50] as held on the issue of player co-authorship as a grounds for invalidity, the court found that while player interaction during "play" mode resulted in some changes in the audiovisual presentation and game, there was always some repetitive sequence of a substantial portion of sights and sounds, and many aspects of the display remained constant despite a player's operation of the controls. [51]
In addition, the importance of software protection is emphasized, thus:
Statutory protection has become increasingly important because more software is mass-marketed through traditional channels or distributed from a website without a signed license agreement (although in many instances with a "clickwrap" license agreement). In many countries, courts have held software to be within the subject matter protection of existing copyright law. Generally, copyright laws protect the form of expression of an idea, but not the idea itself. With respect to software, this typically means that the computer program, in both human-readable and machine-executable form, and the related manuals are eligible for copyright protection, but the methods and algorithms within a program are not protected expression. Source code and object code are protected against literal copying. In addition, certain non-literal elements of expression (including the structure, sequence, organization and "look and feel" of a program) have sometimes been afforded protection under U.S. copyright law. This trend has not clearly surfaced in foreign courts. Therefore, the current scope of protection of software under U.S. law is, at least in this respect, probably broader than under any foreign law. [52]
Video Games have always been embraced by society, especially the youth. But now more than ever, it is evident that it has become available to almost everyone, regardless of location and status, due to the advances in technology and the lowering of costs. As a result, global software industries, are losing almost $4.8 billion to piracy annually. [53] In the Southeast Asian region, at least 84% of software programs being sold and used within the region are pirated. As a result, Asian governments are losing $246 million in tax revenues and approximately 20,000 job opportunities. [54] This means that the problems involving piracy is increasing and moving closer by the day, in accordance to the statistics of piracy by BSA. [55]
The fight against software piracy in the Philippines remains crucial as the software piracy rate or installations of unlicensed software in personal computers (PC) in the country remained unchanged at 69% from 2007 to 2009. However, dollar losses caused by software piracy increased from $202 million in 2008 to $217 million in 2009. [56]
The [Asia Pacific] region reportedly accounts for the highest dollar losses in the world from the use of unlicensed software. The IDC [57] study found that while anti-piracy education and enforcement campaigns spearheaded in the recent years by the software industry, national and local government and law enforcement agencies have made commendable progress in bringing down piracy rates. [58]
In the Philippines, the software piracy rate is at 77% and has invaded practically all sectors of society, including the video gaming industry. Illegal copies are openly available at a third of the price with negligible difference in quality. [59] Also, it has been opined that "[p]iracy, which is the 'unauthorized and illegal reproduction or distribution of materials protected by copyright,' has actually contributed to the growth of an underground economy in the Philippines." [60] The Country has estimated losses to video game piracy at $11.3 million. The numbers are the most current data regarding video game piracy released by the International Intellectual Property Alliance. [61]
It may be laudable that the market has become accessible to persons from all walks of life, however, it cannot be denied that piracy played a big part of what made this all possible. Copyright owners have become increasingly vulnerable to piracy due to inadequate protection under laws. [62] Due to the invasive aspect of this phenomenon, there is a need to address the problem and propose solutions to effectively reduce, if not eliminate this problem.
Statement of the Problem
Piracy in the Philippines has been expanding to an alarming degree over the years. As a result, the country is often part of statistical references and is seen as a haven for illegal activities. This has also brought about the mechanism to circumvent the technological protection measures made by copyright owners. This leads to offering of cheap alternatives for the average consumer of a place where there is scarcity in resources, but an abundance of people who have corresponding needs and wants. Thus, in describing the particulars of piracy in relation to the Philippines, one writer states [63] :
The proliferation of piracy in the Philippines is aggravated by the increasing presence of transnational organized syndicates engaged in optical media piracy that are displaced by serious crackdowns in other countries. This is being thwarted, however, by the serious campaign against this menace being undertaken by law enforcement authorities through constant and persistent raids on manufacturing facilities and outlets of pirated copyright products.. [64]
Many factors contribute to the rampant problem of piracy in the Philippines: the culture and its economy, the lack of resources for or lack of interest in addressing the problem, the lack of education within the nation itself, and lax enforcement by authorities and the courts. A less obvious factor includes the video game subculture, which revolves around file sharing and distributing such software to others at no cost, thus fostering piracy. [65]
In this light, it can be said that although advances in technology help bring about changes in the life of society, these must necessarily generate demand for new legal regimes, [66] in order to keep it in check and within the bounds of the law.
In the advent of modern technology, piracy has become an ordinary fact of life. At present, many actors are involved in seemingly legitimate transactions which are in reality obvious and repetitious violations of copyright holders. Consequently, a conflict arises between the proprietary interests of the vendors, distributors and manufacturers despite the violations, and the right of the video game developer to take steps in protecting its copyright over the games.
As such, a primary objective of this study is to show the peculiar nature of the relationship between the actors in the country's console gaming industry and the activities that have resulted in a mainstream industry which actually supports pirated products. What are the possible liabilities of these persons, in the light of circumventing protection measures, for the events are so intertwined that each one is a material act that creates the act of piracy possible. Reaching this objective means answering the central proposed question: How do the current laws governing intellectual property infringement curb piracy? The study aims to propose amendments to the statute to catch up with technology and fit the needs of society.
Scope and Limitations
This study seeks to determine the effect of the copyright infringement law on the liabilities of the different participants in a simple transaction involving the sale of a modified video game console. By analyzing the provisions of the Intellectual Property Code, it will attempt to establish the link among the original infringers, the vendors as well as the distributors and the manufacturers of the console. The study is limited to video games and the respective console and does not extend to other objects of copyright, the involvement of the internet, and jurisdictional matters. Â
The author made reference to related laws and international agreements but this is limited only to the technological protection measures. The United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act is likewise mentioned, but only to show its inapplicability to the proposal.
Methodology
The Proponent will primarily use materials available at the Ateneo Professional Libraries, more specifically the resources and materials at the Law School Library. Reference materials available at the Ateneo Rizal Library about Intellectual property will also be used.
A secondary source will be materials accessible from the Internet.
Last, interviews will also be conducted with certain people in the industry who have personal experience regarding the events described therein.
Definition of Terms [67]
Access Protection
A technological protection measure that restricts unauthorized access to a copyright work, usually in the form of a software program and/or hardware as part of a computer, an audiovisual or audio device.
Authentication:
The act of verifying a device to determine whether such device complies with a particular copy protection structure/technology and should receive protected content. If the device is verified, then authentication permits the transfer of data (content) from the sending device to the verified receiving device along a secure channel. This is usually accomplished through the use of various cryptographic techniques.
Authorization:
Access rights given to a device once it has been successfully identified and Authenticated.
Circumvention Device
A device (possibly hardware, software or a combination) that can be used to defeat Technological Protection Measures. Instruments having only a limited commercially significant purpose or use, or no such purpose or use other than the circumvention or facilitating the circumvention of an effective technological measure of protection. This despite the fact that using a circumvention device to make an illegal copy of a copyrighted work is already illegal.
Copy Protection
A technological protection measure that restricts unauthorized copying of a copyright work, usually in the form of software program and/or hardware as part of a computer, an audiovisual or audio device.
Copy Control Flags:
Digital bits which immediately precede or are embedded in the content that indicate whether copying is authorized. These flags can become elaborate in defining numbers of copies or length of time for viewing, etc. For flags to be effective, equipment manufacturers must look for and respond to such flags. Flags can be easily identified by content pirates and are easily stripped or ignored. The computer industry to date (at least in the United States) has not been required to look for flags and has resisted doing so.
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Term used in the USA's DMCA to describe the technologies used to control access to or copying of a work. The Canadian consultation paper uses the term Technological Protection Measures in a similar way. The Free Software Foundation includes "Digital Rights Management" on their list of Words To Avoid.
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Digital Restrictions Management (DRM)
An alternative definition for the abbreviation DRM, which emphasizes that from a users perspective, these technologies are used to restrict the uses that can be made of works, often disallowing uses that are completely legal.
Encryption:
Digital scrambling of the bits that make up content to prevent the content from being seen clearly until it is descrambled (i.e. decrypted). The keys necessary to decrypt are delivered only to authorized users and/or authorized equipment. This technology is widely used for all satellite broadcasting of content, including conditional access channels. Early systems relied on one repeatable encryption method, which once compromised was compromised forever. Later systems employed keys with renewable and changing encryption methods. Smart cards were provided to consumers to identify who had paid for the service and who had not. Encryption protects the content until it is decrypted (usually at a set-top box) at which point it can be copied onto other digital media (e.g. computer disc) or analog media (e.g. VCR) that may be connected to the set-top box directly or indirectly via another device, such as a television.
Identification:
Unique way of identifying devices and classes of devices to facilitate Authentication and Revocation.
Macrovision:
A signal within an analog video signal that disrupts the ability of consumer VCRs from recording. Macrovision Type I disrupts recording circuitry of analog VCRs. Macrovision Type I is compatible with NTSC and PAL video signals. With DVD, Macrovision Type II and III (two line and four line colorburst respectively) were introduced. These signals create additional degradations of the video signal. Type II and III Macrovision are compatible with the NTSC video standard only.
Modifying or 'Modding'
A circumvention processes designed to overcome the technological protection measure implemented by the manufacturer of both the video game itself, and the gaming console.
Revocation:
When tampering or illegal cloning has compromised a device or class of devices, digital revocation disallows any further access rights for that device. This is accomplished by providing a list of all revoked devices to compliant devices. Compliant devices then will not Authenticate and Authorize the revoked devices. This list is updated electronically via networks and physical media to the trusted devices and does not require any physical modifications.
SCMS (Serial Copy Management System):
A specific method of using copy control flags that allows digital copies to be made from a master, but not from a copy of that master. Thus, second generation copies and beyond are precluded. This is accomplished by having a set of control flags on the master that are changed by the copying device during the copying process. If the copy is used for an attempted copy, the control flags are incorrect and the copy device will reject it as a master for copying. SCMS is used primarily on music CDs. Computer systems have not been obligated to comply with SCMS. Further, the use of control flags has proven to be easily compromised.
Technological Protection Measure
Devices, mechanisms or systems designed to guard against or restrict the unauthorized use of recordings or information and other material stored in digital formats. These include encryption technologies, and other software and hardware measures. Types of technological protection measures include copy protection, access protection and measures designed to restrict the use that can be made of material or information in other ways.
This term is used to describe technologies that are used to protect copyrighted works, for example encrypting a work so that only people who have a valid key can access it. The main issue concerns whether such technologies should receive legal protection in themselves, in addition to the copyrights protection that they are used to enforce. A close equivalent, used in the USA, is Digital Rights Management.
Watermarking:
Bits embedded into the content that cannot be audibly nor visually detected, but which can be read by a detection device so that it knows whether the content being played is authentic and where the source of the content was originated. Such information can provide data on the author, rights, distribution, etc. It can also contain copy control information and instructions. A watermark can only be effective if compliant detectors that read and respond to the watermark are embodied in the playback and record devices; otherwise, the watermark will pass undetected. One of the difficulties in watermarking is that it must survive compression methods without becoming visible or audible when uncompressed.
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