Tuesday, February 13, 2007

China and Russia top roster of copyright violators

China and Russia top roster of copyright violators
by DAN NYSTEDT
ComputerWorld, publication date: 12 February 2007
"The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) put out the figures as part of its recommendations to the U.S. Trade Representative. It asked government officials to keep both countries on its Priority Watch List when it meets to discuss the annual Special 301 review of copyright piracy. The list is compiled each year, and nations placed on the list are watched closely for signs of improvement. Failure to take action can result in countries losing certain duty-free trade privileges."

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Thoughts on Music

Thoughts on Music
by STEVE JOBS
Apple.com, publication date: 6 February 2007
"The problem, of course, is that there are many smart people in the world, some with a lot of time on their hands, who love to discover such secrets and publish a way for everyone to get free (and stolen) music. They are often successful in doing just that, so any company trying to protect content using a DRM must frequently update it with new and harder to discover secrets. It is a cat-and-mouse game. Apple’s DRM system is called FairPlay. While we have had a few breaches in FairPlay, we have been able to successfully repair them through updating the iTunes store software, the iTunes jukebox software and software in the iPods themselves. So far we have met our commitments to the music companies to protect their music, and we have given users the most liberal usage rights available in the industry for legally downloaded music."