CCG Intro

Press Release - October 2003:

Copy Protection Association Proposed

Developers see need for action to counter misleading and negative publicity on copy protection technologies

Fair use advocates agree that there are valid applications for copy protection

Several new copy protection products announce during the IDDA Disc Duplicating University Presentations

At the Disc Duplication University Conference at DCD Expo, San Jose, CA, in February, 2003, many of the developers involved in copy control or copy protection technologies expressed interest in the formation of this Association.

However due to the Conference running late, and the absence of some key developers due to illness and other reasons, it was decided to postpone the formal establishment of the Association. A meeting was held during Comdex in November in Las Vegas where the founding of the association was discussed.

A meeting is planned during the EMX Expo www.entertainmentmediaexpo.com after the following session.

10:50 – 11:50 am Theater 2 on the EXPO floor - Wednesday 1 September
Copy Protection Update
There is a large potential market for copy-protected duplicated disc media from music publishers who want to protect their work to software publishers who want their software protected. Effective copy protected recordable media opens up new markets to the duplicating industry.
Here we will have updates on recent technologies from the leading copy protection developers, including George Macdonald of First 4 Internet Ltd, Mr Graham Oakes of Ezee Studios in LA, Stuart Rosove of Activated Content Corp, Abbie Sommer of StarForce Technologies Inc, Bala Vishwanath of Smarte Solutions, Magdy Sharawy of Softlock, and others still to confirm.

Following the Presentations we may be holding a Meeting for the International Copy Control (Protection) Association, which will be open to all.

The following matters were discussed at the meeting on 18 November 2003:

Name: Although Copy Control was probably a technically more accurate term, the associations with the word "control" made the term 'copy protection' more acceptable.

Copy Control & Copy Protected logos Logo: The IFPI has suggested the following logo, and there are several others that can be used. Macrovision have already offered the logo that they used many years ago on copy protected floppy discs for free, attached, and the Japanese have also made it compulsory to show their logo on copy protected media. Whether one logo should be used to indicate that media is copy controlled, and the same or a different logo be used to represent the association will be discussed.

Membership will be for organizations involved in using, developing, promoting or even opposing copy protection technology, and would include developers, replicating and duplicating organizations, music publishers, record labels, major software publishers, the smaller music and software publishers, and many others.

Fees - The organization needs a reasonable income to send out international professional press releases and to pay professionals to liase properly. It was suggested that founder full members pay a reduced membership fee of say US$500 a year, while members would pay US$1,000 a year. Organizations with a turnover of over $5 million a year would pay $2,000 a year. Three types of membership are envisaged.

The advantages of having an organization to represent the copy control or copy control industry are;

that you would then have a voice to speak for and promote the technology.
to correct misapprehensions about copy control technologies.
to work with oppononents of copy control and find technologies to allay their objections.
to set standards to describe different levels of copy protection or control.
to accept a universal logo to indicate copy protected media.
to establish a common description for the technology.
to find ways of working together to solve technical and other problems.
to resolve legal and ethical issues.

We would appreciate an indication of your interest, please email brk@discdupe.org.

We have suggested a set of rules or constitution at www.copycontrol.org/constitution.

Although idea of this organization was first discussed during a session presented by the IDDA, (international disc Duplicating Association), the IDDA believe that the new organization should be separate from the IDDA as many members will not be involved in the duplicating industry, although the IDDA sees the duplicating industry having an interest in copy control.

Attached is a survey sheet for quick response, as your answers allow the meeting to proceed more smoothly.

Bernhard Kirschner
Convenor.


Would you join such a group?	Yes No
What do you think the annual fee should be?
Do you think 'copy control' or or 'copy protection' should be the accepted terminology?		Copy Control Copy Protection
	Other
Would you be prepared to commit time to organizing the group?	Yes No
How wide should the membership be?
Where should the next meeting take place?		Mediatech EMX
	Other
Do you have any ideas on a standard logo for CC or CP media?
Should market forces decide, or do you believe that the DMCA , EUCD and other laws are good for the copy protection industry?	Market Forces should decide. DMCA, EUCD and other laws are good
What do you think and how do you answer accusations that the DMCA , EUCD and other laws cause resentment, stiffle development, and interfere with how you operate your business?
How do you answer accusations that "copy protection is doomed to fail"?
Do you have an opinion on legal matters such as the DMA, the 'Hollings Bill', and other legislation?
Any other comments?
Your Contact Details:	Name:
	Company:
	Email:
	Click "Send Survey" to send the information. Click on "Reset" to clear the form.