Comments on: Does Hollywood control Vista? http://www.p2pnet.net/story/5890 p2pnet.net - reader powered Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:04:15 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/5890/comment-page-1#comment-18503 Reader's Write Sun, 14 Aug 2005 22:20:06 +0000 #comment-18503 You are correct that the 1996 WIPO treaties, the USA's DMCA, and Bill C-60 if it passes in Canada will eventually need to be abrogated. The important question is: What state will the relevant markets be in by the time policy makers wake up and realize the problem they created? a) Will any of the motion picture, recording industry, and other content sector intermediaries of today exist? Their current value-add in the marketplace is control over the distribution and funding of content. DRM companies can entirely replace that part of the market, and thus this theoretical lobby-group won't be there to fight against bad policy. b) Will the alternatives to "software manufacturing" such as FLOSS still exist? There will always be a fringe human rights activists who refuse to give up control over their own computers, but will there be a growing marketplace of commercial competitors as is the case today? Legal protection for DRM only needs to exist long enough to get rid of competitors on both of these fronts. Then they only need to fight off much smaller new-market competitors, something that the contenders for the DRM monopoly (Microsoft, Sony, IBM, etc) have a fairly long history of doing already. You are correct that the 1996 WIPO treaties, the USA’s DMCA, and Bill C-60 if it passes in Canada will eventually need to be abrogated. The important question is: What state will the relevant markets be in by the time policy makers wake up and realize the problem they created?

a) Will any of the motion picture, recording industry, and other content sector intermediaries of today exist? Their current value-add in the marketplace is control over the distribution and funding of content. DRM companies can entirely replace that part of the market, and thus this theoretical lobby-group won’t be there to fight against bad policy.

b) Will the alternatives to “software manufacturing” such as FLOSS still exist? There will always be a fringe human rights activists who refuse to give up control over their own computers, but will there be a growing marketplace of commercial competitors as is the case today?

Legal protection for DRM only needs to exist long enough to get rid of competitors on both of these fronts. Then they only need to fight off much smaller new-market competitors, something that the contenders for the DRM monopoly (Microsoft, Sony, IBM, etc) have a fairly long history of doing already.

]]> By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/5890/comment-page-1#comment-18502 Reader's Write Sun, 14 Aug 2005 22:11:01 +0000 #comment-18502 DRM is a set of rules, and those rules are encoded in software. What the Trusted Platform Module (TPM -- not "Technological Protection Measure") that TCPA is pushing http://www.againsttcpa.com/ is a small computer that is included on your motherboard. Your software as the owner/operator of the computer runs on the main processor, but the DRM software runs on this separate less powerful TPM computer. The idea is that each stage of the process on the main computer "measures" the next stage, and stores this encrypted information in the TPM in a way that unauthorized software that runs later can't modify. The BIOS is measured, and then the BIOS measures the boot loader (GRUB, LILO, etc), and then so-on down to each application that you run. When asked by a remote site the TPM will give these encrypted measurements which can then be verified against known/trusted software. Obviously user-modifiable software, such as Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS), will not be known/trusted. Can this be "cracked or bypassed almost immediately"? Of course it can, but this only matters to those very few people who have both the technical capabilities to do so and are not law abiding. While DRM can never be effective in its stated goal (of stopping lawbreakers from infringing copyright), it can have a huge anti-competitive effect on the marketplace. The vast majority are law abiding citizens, and having a technology that keeps these law-abiding citizens from using competing software will work quite well. It is important to always remember that DRM only affects the activities of law-abiding citizens. It only takes one law breaking technical person to decode the DRM and re-release the content in an unencumbered form. Then any number of law breaking non-technical persons can access that content with the technology of their choice. DRM is a set of rules, and those rules are encoded in software. What the Trusted Platform Module (TPM — not “Technological Protection Measure”) that TCPA is pushing http://www.againsttcpa.com/ is a small computer that is included on your motherboard. Your software as the owner/operator of the computer runs on the main processor, but the DRM software runs on this separate less powerful TPM computer.

The idea is that each stage of the process on the main computer “measures” the next stage, and stores this encrypted information in the TPM in a way that unauthorized software that runs later can’t modify. The BIOS is measured, and then the BIOS measures the boot loader (GRUB, LILO, etc), and then so-on down to each application that you run. When asked by a remote site the TPM will give these encrypted measurements which can then be verified against known/trusted software. Obviously user-modifiable software, such as Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS), will not be known/trusted.

Can this be “cracked or bypassed almost immediately”? Of course it can, but this only matters to those very few people who have both the technical capabilities to do so and are not law abiding. While DRM can never be effective in its stated goal (of stopping lawbreakers from infringing copyright), it can have a huge anti-competitive effect on the marketplace. The vast majority are law abiding citizens, and having a technology that keeps these law-abiding citizens from using competing software will work quite well.

It is important to always remember that DRM only affects the activities of law-abiding citizens. It only takes one law breaking technical person to decode the DRM and re-release the content in an unencumbered form. Then any number of law breaking non-technical persons can access that content with the technology of their choice.

]]> By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/5890/comment-page-1#comment-18426 Reader's Write Fri, 12 Aug 2005 17:09:29 +0000 #comment-18426 Nicely put. I agree 100%. You have to look at a situation like this critically/sceptically, given the past behaviour of Microsoft. And Linux *is* its main competitor. One slight problem, though: as I understand it (which I admit isn't fully) the DRM is mainly done in hardware. Unless hardware manufacturers explicitly disallow the OS community to write drivers for their hardware (including Palladium chips) won't the DRM be cracked or bypassed almost immediately? If not, why not? Chris Nicely put. I agree 100%. You have to look at a situation like this critically/sceptically, given the past behaviour of Microsoft. And Linux *is* its main competitor.

One slight problem, though: as I understand it (which I admit isn’t fully) the DRM is mainly done in hardware. Unless hardware manufacturers explicitly disallow the OS community to write drivers for their hardware (including Palladium chips) won’t the DRM be cracked or bypassed almost immediately? If not, why not?

Chris

]]> By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/5890/comment-page-1#comment-18422 Reader's Write Fri, 12 Aug 2005 11:12:56 +0000 #comment-18422 Very interesting theory, but there are a couple holes in it. I think the fruition of such a plan would undoubtedly trigger reform. At such a point even hollywood would lobby for DMCA reform, and with their obscene lobbying power they would be granted it immediately. This means it's actually HOLLYWOOD which holds the trump card here. In addition, microsoft would be exposing itself to very significant antitrust litigation risks if their goal is as your theory states. As much as i'd LOVE to see this happen, as it would make even the idiotic mr. hatch wake up, i believe felton has it right. Hollywood is the one in control here. Very interesting theory, but there are a couple holes in it.

I think the fruition of such a plan would undoubtedly trigger reform. At such a point even hollywood would lobby for DMCA reform, and with their obscene lobbying power they would be granted it immediately. This means it’s actually HOLLYWOOD which holds the trump card here.

In addition, microsoft would be exposing itself to very significant antitrust litigation risks if their goal is as your theory states.

As much as i’d LOVE to see this happen, as it would make even the idiotic mr. hatch wake up, i believe felton has it right. Hollywood is the one in control here.

]]> By: Reader's Write http://www.p2pnet.net/story/5890/comment-page-1#comment-18400 Reader's Write Fri, 12 Aug 2005 02:32:55 +0000 #comment-18400 I would not put it past Micro$hit to try to do something like this. I would not put it past Micro$hit to try to do something like this.

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