Xref: utzoo gnu.misc.discuss:246 rec.audio:15112 rec.music.cd:4421 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!ginosko!uunet!acd4!mjb From: mjb@acd4.UUCP ( Mike Bryan ) Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss,rec.audio,rec.music.cd Subject: Re: DAT copy protection (was "Free Nelson Mandela") Message-ID: <1989Sep8.190742.28884@acd4.UUCP> Date: 8 Sep 89 19:07:42 GMT References: Reply-To: mjb@acd4.UUCP ( Mike Bryan ) Distribution: gnu Organization: Applied Computing Devices, Inc., Terre Haute, IN Lines: 42 In article fox@cs.cs.columbia.edu (David Fox) writes: >I'm pretty sure this is how the DAT copy protection *really* works: > > CDs are marked "I'm copyrighted" in their non-audible info. > > When a DAT records something marked "I'm copyrighted" it > produces a copy marked "I'm a copy of something copy- > righted." > > DATs will refuse to copy something marked "I'm a copy of > something copyrighted." First, a nit to pick: all above occurances of "copyrighted" should be "copy-protected". Commercial recordings are (always?) copyrighted, but none (few?) have been copy-protected, and won't be until the DAT issue is resolved. David's description matches my understanding of DAT copy protection, as gleaned from an article in a recent issue of Electronic Engineering Times. However, I have a really serious worry about this scheme: what's to prevent a CD manufacturer from marking the CD "I'm a copy of something copy-protected"? All they have to do is change the value of the appropriate sub-code, and the DAT will refuse to copy it. Then I couldn't even make my own private copy! Surely they wouldn't be so restrictive, would they? Just because they originally championed protection schemes which allowed absolutely no copying, we can trust them now, right? It really alarms me that I haven't seen any discussion of this possibility. Since the recording industry hasn't said they will not do this, I have to believe they are at least considering the idea. Greedy little buggers. On a more positive note, the copy protection scheme also allows CDs to be marked as "no copyprotect", so that you *could* make copies of your copies (of your copies...). Let's hope that some labels/artists are smart enough to do just this, making the whole issue of copy-protection totally moot. -- Mike Bryan, Applied Computing Devices, 100 N Campus Dr, Terre Haute IN 47802 Phone: 812/232-6051 FAX: 812/231-5280 Home: 812/232-0815 UUCP: uunet!acd4!mjb ARPA: acd4!mjb@uunet.uu.net "Did you make mankind after we made you?" --- XTC, "Dear God"