New DRM file scare apps
p2p news / p2pnet: Two more DRM applications that’ll supposedly prevent ‘illegal’ file sharing have appeared on the non-event horizon.
The first can detect, "illegally exchanged files in file-sharing networks using the watermark technology combined with a P2P network client," promises the Fraunhofer Integrated Publication and Information Systems Institute (IPSI), quoted in CDRInfo.
"A software program enters a file-sharing network as a user, downloads potentially illegal copies and scans the P2P network for watermarks," it says, going on:
The second, "automatically responds to search queries in file-sharing networks," says the story.
"The system would, for instance, display a warning to a participant, if the file requested happened to be an illegal copy. With the help of search queries addressed within the network the system would be able to compile a list of keywords to detect the requested files and would also prevent multiple downloads of the same file.
"This would allow the files exchanged on the Internet to be correlated with a list of current music charts. The tool is designed as a means of discouragement to scare users who believe they are not observed when trading files on a file-sharing network."
The two Digital Rights Restriction apps will probably be introduced to potential marks at Cebit 2006 in March, says CDRInfo.
Also See:
CDRInfo – New Technology to Detect Illegal File-Sharing , February 7, 2006
February 8th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
doesn’t Fraunhofer own the mp3 patent?
Seems like one more reason to move to ogg to me…of course the players don’t seem to want to support it.
February 8th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
doesn’t Fraunhofer own the mp3 patent?
I think so. Of course MP3 wouldn’t be as popular if it weren’t for file sharing. It’s the killer app of MP3.
February 8th, 2006 at 9:55 pm
MPC and even windows media player support ogg…
February 8th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
“watermark technology”
If a watermark can be detected by software, it can be removed by another software. This is going nowhere.
“A software program enters a file-sharing network as a user, downloads potentially illegal copies and scans the P2P network for watermarks,”
There is a little problem with this. If the downloaded song belongs to X and X did not authorized the downloading, X can sue Fraunhofer or whoever for copyright infringement.
“and would also prevent multiple downloads of the same file”
Does anyone know of a reason that someone would want to download a file multiple times?
“This would allow the files exchanged on the Internet to be correlated with a list of current music charts.”
What language is this? English?
“The tool is designed as a means of discouragement to scare users”
Wouln’t the use of Dracula be more effective for the purpose?
Seems like a hoax to advance the idea that a watermark based filtering solution will be introduced. Of course, such a filtering solution is impossible.
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com
February 8th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
I think the reference to players not supporting ogg was to portable players…and it may be becouse the *iaa’s don’t want them to.
February 9th, 2006 at 4:40 pm
“The system would, for instance, display a warning to a participant, if the file requested happened to be an illegal copy. ”
This is what made me laugh, display a warning? err, HOW?
There is such a thing as a firewall that prevents messages being sent to ip’s
The filesharing software could display this message, IF anyone made a filesharing program that supports this.
There is no way to display a warning on another users computer, the programs in this article are vaporware.
What a scam
February 10th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
So many inconsistancies in this story.
- If it’s applied to CDs, the mere act of ripping to Mp3 will destroy the watermark
- If it’s applied to MP3s “for download from legal sites”, note that iTMS doesn’t use MP3. Most of the rest of them use WMA. Which leaves the sites like eMusic and Bleep who don’t deal with the majors anyway. then there’s AllOfMp3. Will they really convince AllOfMp3 to apply the watermark during their encoding?
- So they’re going to download MP3s from P2P and scan them for the watermark? How much bandwidth do they have? Or is is this all after the RIAA fingers someone when they only need to find one file?
Watermarking, like DRM can’t work. Give somebody the encrypted text and the keys and they’ll have a plain copy that you can’t control. This is really just another atempt to control market share and lock in customers. Nothing to do with piracy. Move along, nothing to see here.