AfterDawn: News

Viacom executive says DRM is the way of the future

According to Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, the company has no intention of delivering DRM free digital media, and in fact expects both DRM and watermarking technology to be widely accepted among both content providers and consumers. During an address at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference on antipiracy measures he said that these measures "will usher in an unprecedented period of creative output across the globe." Hoping to prove his point, he mentioned that Viacom is already the leader in delivering digital content to mobile devices.

His comments seem to indicate that the parent company of Paramount hasn't learned anything from the music industry experience with media distribution, which is clearly shifting to a DRM free model. While DRM on video destined for mobile devices may make sense, it's not as though there's a huge demand for watching low resolution, low quality video on an HDTV anyway.



Although he also claimed that Viacom supports fair use, his diatribe about the importance of DRM and watermarking didn't include an explanation of how those technologies can be used in a way that allows consumers to take advantage of that right.

If content owners really want to be friends of fair use, it's time to do more than simply give lip service to it. Regardless of the entertainment industry's liberal application of Orwellian doublethink, peace is not war, love is not hate, and DRM (as it's currently implemented) is not conducive to fair use.

Source: CNet News

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 2 Oct 2007 8:40

• Previous article

• Matsushita talks advanced Blu-ray recorders at CEATAC

• Next article

• TV Guide wants to help you find TV shows online

• 16 comments

• nobrainer

  when the mpaa are pushing for more drm embedded in dvb to stop pvr recording you would hardly expect one of their members to come out and say drm is doomed now!
  
  While these companies in the mpaa have subsidiaries that make the drm in the first place, and are making and fortune from using it, they will never stop and with the new DRM BD+ that sends usage data back to the studios the possibilities for targeted advertising are a gold mine waiting to be reaped.
  
  hopefully with the privacy laws in canada they will force companies to change their ways unless the lobby gets their way, but with the recent exposure of Patricia Neri the director general of copyright policy who was in a relationship with one of canada’s leading copyright lobbyists, so a conflict of interest forced her to be repositioned but not before the bill c-59 was rushed through the senate, but this will defiantly be a set back for the lobby. expect to see patricia on the oprah winfrey show sometime soon, on how she was used for her position and when things changed he dropped her a flew away.
  
  makes you wonder what the movie industry is willing to do to get their way!
  
  Btw i do realise that viacom is locked into hd-dvd for the time being.
  
  everyone should take a read around this site to see what these dirty players are upto and the bills they want to pass while stating that the feel fair use is allowed. http://www.eff.org/
  

  Track What Companies Have Edited Wiki http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/ (very heavy load atm)

  2.10.2007 09:37 #1

• ZippyDSM

  None viral like and consumer friendly DRM sure fine however the the stuff that is not consumer friendly should be discarded and boycotted ASAP.
  
  The industry needs to learn they can not legally do half the things they are trying to do.

  2.10.2007 10:38 #2

• mspurloc

  CLUELESS.

  2.10.2007 11:07 #3

• Pop_Smith

  I love how almost all the other big-shots out there said "DRM sucks" and say they would rather abolish it then this Viacom CEO, who also tried to sue Google for copyrighted videos on YouTube, thinks its "the way of the future"?
  
  Someone needs to read the news and talk with the other big-shots out there. If he did a little homework he would discover the overwhelming mass of people are opposed to DRM.
  
  Peace

  2.10.2007 12:22 #4

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by Pop_Smith: I love how almost all the other big-shots out there said "DRM sucks" and say they would rather abolish it then this Viacom CEO, who also tried to sue Google for copyrighted videos on YouTube, thinks its "the way of the future"?
  
  Someone needs to read the news and talk with the other big-shots out there. If he did a little homework he would discover the overwhelming mass of people are opposed to DRM.
  
  Peace
  the way thigns are goign you will have to register online to get stuff to work and then after that the DRM will not let you backup or copy 90% of media and the other 5% will have DRM on it that will make sure what you are backing up is not the "wrong stuff".
  
  They need to remove them selfs from nannying users on this level and go after distributors....

  2.10.2007 12:34 #5

• DXR88

  or we can beat them at there own game. like weve been doing for 10 years strait now. heck i entertain my self busting there sad excuse for drm. thing is there finaly realizing that they just cant have a self monitering program like starforce, starforge, blacklist and in famuse Securerom now they have servers that defiey privacy polocy laws and snoop on what your burning.. not preety

  2.10.2007 15:30 #6

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by DXR88: or we can beat them at there own game. like weve been doing for 10 years strait now. heck i entertain my self busting there sad excuse for drm. thing is there finaly realizing that they just cant have a self monitering program like starforce, starforge, blacklist and in famuse Securerom now they have servers that defiey privacy polocy laws and snoop on what your burning.. not preetyYa and as it goes they will be able to prove to thier buds in Washington that fair use is a ruse to steal moeny from corporations and that in order to protect the population they must ban fair use in order to protect trade!
  
  WTF?! LOL

  2.10.2007 15:58 #7

• DXR88

  Vicsues Drm cycle zippy

  2.10.2007 16:04 #8

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by DXR88: Vicsues Drm cycle zippyWell either balance is found or the DRM gets so tight(and broken ASAP) the suits will cry foul long enough their buddies that make regulations for them will start making dumber laws to protect trade or some scenario like that.

  2.10.2007 16:09 #9

• DXR88

  Heh. i hear ya. it not bad enough they cripple are music they want us to pay for it. Not while i still have a brain & the love for all things binary.

  2.10.2007 17:47 #10

• c1c

  I believe DRM has worked out for them. I remember 8 years ago when everyone on the planet was getting their music through napster.
  
  No one thought about illegal downloads or illegal sharing, it was just a way to get music. Then they shut down napster and now we have itunes and drm downloading. So half of those napster people who never really new they were doing anything illegal, now choose itunes to purchase their music. And the other half have gone elsewhere for DRM free illegal downloads.
  
  They just had to tell us users that it downloading music was illegal. They made some examples out of some people as a 'scare tactic' and about 50 percent went to go purchase their music becasue they didnt want to pay fines like those examples out there.
  
  The 'scare tactic' works for a lot of things out there, and some people go for it and some arent afraid.

  2.10.2007 17:51 #11

• DXR88

  But C1c whats not illeagle these days. tell me one thing you can think off that isnt and its Cash free.

  2.10.2007 18:08 #12

• Blackjax

  Well all I have to say to Mr. Phillipe is the same thing I have to say to our so called "lawmakers" in washington.....
  
  Take both hands reach around and grab on tight to that thing you sit on most of the time. Then with all your might pull your head out of your arse! The smell is better and you might just see the light!!
  
  .....until then i still consider the whole lot of you a bunch of incompentent morons I wouldn't trust you to watch my grass grow.
  
  enough said.

  2.10.2007 20:31 #13

• c1c

  Originally posted by DXR88: But C1c whats not illeagle these days. tell me one thing you can think off that isnt and its Cash free.Free speech on the internet is the only thing that is free in this world. Soon enough the government will have us all on watch with all civil liberties out the window. All ISPs will be under fire from government agencies and there will be no place for us to run to.
  

  
  
  hp dvd 840, vaio pcg-frv27,Epson r260 Printer, Wacom Graphire 4x5, Verbatim 4X Printable DVD-R

  2.10.2007 20:39 #14

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:Originally posted by DXR88: But C1c whats not illeagle these days. tell me one thing you can think off that isnt and its Cash free.Free speech on the internet is the only thing that is free in this world. Soon enough the government will have us all on watch with all civil liberties out the window. All ISPs will be under fire from government agencies and there will be no place for us to run to.Oh please when URLs are considered IP/CP and can be removed with C&D speech is next....

  3.10.2007 04:15 #15

• borhan9

  It maybe the way of the future however it also will be cracked like everything else that has come before it and it has been and any modification done to it will also be cracked.

  9.10.2007 19:00 #16