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Cybertelecom Federal Internet Law & Policy An Educational Project |
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IP: DRM & Broadcast Flag | |
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Derived From: CRS Report, Copyright Exemptions for Distance Education: 17 U.S.C. § 110(2), the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002, p. 9-10 (July 6, 2006)
"Digital television (DTV) is a new service representing a significant development in television transmission technology. DTV can provide sharper pictures, a wider screen, CD-quality sound, better color rendition, multiple video programming, and a single program of high definition television (HDTV).
"Developing a protocol for transmitting and receiving digital television in a way that accommodates competing interests of content providers (e.g., movie studios and television networks) and consumers has proved challenging. Digital content can be easily duplicated and distributed, especially with the aid of the Internet. Unlike other types of content, duplication of digital information does not degrade the original. For example, the quality of a program recorded on an analog VHS tape degrades after successive copies, but content delivered through a DVD may be copied almost infinitely with little to no effect on display and sound quality. It is due to the ease and inexhaustible potential of copying digital media, coupled with the proliferation of peer-to-peer file-sharing services, that content owners approach new DTV technology with some trepidation.
"The broadcast flag was created as a possible solution to prevent users from unlawfully manipulating or pirating DTV content. The “flag,” an encrypted tag signal, is buried into a digital transmission. The flag is adaptable: it can create time restrictions on viewing, it can prevent copying, or it can block a person’s ability to edit a transmission. The broadcast flag is a form of digital rights management, or DRM.
"If implemented, a broadcast flag system is likely to require that all devices receiving transmissions be flag compliant. Its potential use as an effective DRM for DTV transmissions was advanced after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determined that broadcast transmissions be digital by December 31, 2006."
- Released: 04/01/2005. CERTIFICATIONS FOR DIGITAL OUTPUT PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES AND RECORDING METHODS TO BE USED IN COVERED DEMODULATOR PRODUCTS. (DA No. 05-997). (Dkt No 05-163) Opposition Date: 04/21/2005; Reply to Opposition Date: 05/02/2005. Comments Due: 04/21/2005. MB. Contact: Rick Chessen, Natalie Roisman at 7200, FCC 4/5/2005
- Released: 09/28/2004. CERTIFICATIONS FOR DIGITAL OUTPUT PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES AND RECORDING METHODS TO BE USED IN COVERED DEMODULATOR PRODUCTS.. (DA No. 04-3086). (Dkt No 04-64) Opposition Due: 10/18/2004, Reply to Opposition: 10/28/2004. Comments Due:, FCC 9/30/2004
- CERTIFICATIONS FOR DIGITAL OUTPUT PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES AND RECORDING METHODS TO BE USED IN COVERED DEMODULATOR PRODUCTS. (DA No. 04-2605) Oppositions Due: 09/13/2004, Reply to Oppositions Date Due: 09/23/2004. Comments Due: 09/13/2004. Reply Comments Due: 09/23/2004. MB. Contact: Rick Chessen, Susan Mort at 7200, FCC 8/25/2004
- 11/4/03 FCC Adopts Anti-Piracy Protection For Digital TV.
News Release: Word | Acrobat
Order: Word | Acrobat
Powell Press Statement: Word | Acrobat
Abernathy Statement: Word | Acrobat
Copps Statement: Word | Acrobat
Adelstein Statement: Word | Acrobat
Caselaw
- ALA v. FCC, DC Cir. 5/10/2005
- Court axes FCC's anti-piracy rules, PK 5/10/2005
- Court rejects broadcast flag, USACM 5/10/2005
- Federal Effort to Head Off TV Piracy Is Challenged, NYT 2/22/2005
- Courts question anti-piracy rule, BBC 2/25/2005
- Court questions FCC's broadcast flag rules, CNET 2/22/2005
Statements
- Public Knowledge FCC to Place Restrictions on How Americans Watch Television: send a fax to the FCC to let them know where you stand on the "broadcast flag" issue.
- CDT Implications of the Broadcast Flag:A Public Interest Primer PDF
- Public Interest Groups Call Upon FCC to Consider Consumer Impact in Broadcast Flag Rulemaking Aug 2002'
- Consumer Federation
Govt Activity
Brian T. Yeh, Congressional Research Service, CRS Report to Congress, Copyright Protection of Digital Television: The Broadcast Video Flag(Jan. 11, 2007)
- Michael Einhorn and Bill Rosenblatt, Peer-to-Peer Networking and Digital Rights Management, CATO (Feb. 17, 2005
- Dan L. Burk, Legal and Technical Standards in Digital Rights Management Technology, 74 FORDHAM L. REV. 537 (2005)
- YOOKI PARK , Digital Rights Management and the Pricing of Digital Products, SSRN 12/7/2004
- Alessandro Acquisti,Darknets, DRM, and Trusted Computing: Economic Incentives for Platform Providers, TPRC 10/2/2004
- Jean Camp, DRM: Doesn't Really Mean Digital Copyright Management, Harvard Working Papers 3/8/2004
- Consumer Electronics Association
- Home Recording Rights Coalition
- National Association of Broadcasters
Webcasts & Podcasts
- CyberLC: The Technology of Copyright: Digital Rights Management Nov 19, 2003
- Internet Caucus Digital Rights Management Tools: Whose Rights Are Being Managed? April 3, 2003
- Feb 5 2003 CATO Battle over the Broadcast Flag: The IP Wars and the HDTV Transition