It's not as though manufacturers won't help the entertainment industry.
Designers of computers and consumer electronics keep adding ever-more-Byzantine levels of protection in response to copyright owners' demands. They have developed locked digital connectors to enforce encoded copying rules, as well as video and audio cables that use encryption to prevent any diversion of a signal.
_____TechNews.com Archive_____
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'Ranger' Vs. the Movie Pirates (The Washington Post, Jun 19, 2002)
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The View From Hollywood (The Washington Post, Jun 19, 2002)
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Copyfight Renewal (The Washington Post, Jun 7, 2002)
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Hollings Proposes Copyright Defense (The Washington Post, Mar 22, 2002)
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Congress Urged to Let Industry Solve Digital Piracy Problem (The Washington Post, Mar 14, 2002)
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They are even working to embed allegedly invisible watermarks in television and film to close the "analog hole" of conventional video connectors (consumers prefer to describe this as a "feature").
But no matter what wrappers and locks are put on content, that which can be seen or heard can be copied. And once it's been sent up on the Internet in an unprotected format, it's never coming down.
In response, studios, record labels and others might have to change their business models -- as nearly every other industry has had to do in response to the Internet. (I realize this might cut back on stars' salaries; sacrifices must be made sometimes.)
Companies could also fight back by prosecuting the worst offenders. The laws governing this have been on the books for a long time. But instead we have the absurd logic of the Hollings bill. It says the only way to prevent people from using stolen content is to require all software and hardware to verify that nothing's been stolen.
In other words, you are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
Entertainment lobbyists say these copyright-sensitive products -- perhaps we could call them Hollingsware -- could give users the benefit of the doubt, allowing playback of material even if copy-protection watermarks, flags or stamps weren't present.
But we have no guarantee that Hollingsware would work any better than today's crotchety software and hardware. Will I have to call tech support to watch my brother's home movie because my computer thinks it's stolen property?
Hollings staffers say they want to protect consumers' "legitimate behavior." But the bill lets copyright owners define that term. History suggests they are not in a generous mood:
