US senators legislate for music player copyright protection

By Steve Malone

Posted on 21 Dec 2005 at 10:27

Two senators in the US Congress have introduced a bill which would make it compulsory for the next generation of digital content players to have anti-piracy technology built in. The Bill also proposes to outlaw electronic devices that convert analogue video signals into digital ones.

The aim of the Bill is to plug the so-called 'analogue hole'. while it is possible to prevent direct disc to disc copying through DRM technology there has always been the loophole that allows a copier simply to read the signal from an analogue port such as speaker or video output. This new law would close that avenue to the copier.

The devices would only be permitted if the encoders also protected against unauthorised copying. Anyone found guilty of marketing and producing a device without the copy protection technology built in faces a fine of $200 and $2,500 per product. Large scale offenders face jail sentences of up to five years and fines of up to $500,000 and the offending devices destroyed.

By 'next generation' the Bill estimates that new digital recorders should have the DRM protection within a maximum of eighteen months from the Bill's passing.

One of the Bill's sponsors House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr said 'This legislation is designed to secure analogue content from theft that has been made easier as a result of the transition to digital technologies.'

Unsurprisingly, the so-called 'Digital Transition Content Security Act' has been welcomed by the movie studios trade association, the Motion Picture Association of America.