CD-copy protection

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Phait
Posts: 932
Joined: 08:48, 9 August 2003
Location: Appleton, WI, USA

CD-copy protection

Post by Phait »

Is there any technology on the radar that shows promise of:

-preventing a CD from being copied/ripped
-letting the CD play on CD-players/in computers

I'm thinking it can't be this hard to create something infallible.. it's probably the most simple thing, and it's eluding the people attempting these technologies..
Red Winger
Posts: 982
Joined: 03:24, 30 May 2003
Location: Cal-Y-phony-a

Re: CD-copy protection

Post by Red Winger »

Hey Phait,

"-preventing a CD from being copied/ripped"

Yes and no. There exists technology to prevent unauthorized copies of CDs from being made by certain types of CD players. In fact, Applie's iTunes incorporates limits on how many copies of a CD you can burn with tunes you download from their Music Store. However, it's very easy to get around. So, if you're question is whether there is technology to prevent copying without workarounds, the answer is no, not yet (if ever).

I think it's much harder than you may be realizing, just because people have the right to time-shift (and maybe space-shift) copies of music they purchase, so you have to permit copying in some circumstances but not others. Believe me, there has been a tremendous amount of effort put into trying to prevent unauthorized copying. There are some good ideas out there, but nothing perfect has emerged. If you're interested in this stuff, here are some good websites to check out that have more info on copy protection issues:

http://creativecommons.org
http://www.eff.org
http://www.riaa.com

"-letting the CD play on CD-players/in computers"

I'm not sure I get this one. This definitely exists today, unless I'm misunderstanding your question.

[Edit -- nevermind, I re-read your question and now get that the second part wasn't really a separate question. See answer to first part.]

Cheers,
RW
Red Winger
Posts: 982
Joined: 03:24, 30 May 2003
Location: Cal-Y-phony-a

Re: CD-copy protection

Post by Red Winger »

A quick follow-up on whether the CD copy protection efforts of BMG/Arista, etc., are on-track:

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-801582.html

Cheers,
RW
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