MPAA filed several major objections to CableLabs’ full final draft o...
MPAA filed several major objections to CableLabs’ full final draft of its anticopying technology license for advanced digital cable set-top boxes, signaling that fight over controversial encryption technology wasn’t over (CD Dec 29 p1). In comments submitted to FCC…
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late last month, MPAA said it was “concerned with a number” of provisions in POD Host Interface License Agreement (PHILA) and was “uncertain as to how some of these and other provisions will work in practice.” Group said its concerns included technology’s: (1) “Apparent ineffective protection against unauthorized Internet retransmission of all content, including broadcast.” (2) “Unprotected high-resolution output of most categories of content from those devices.” (3) “Copying and permanent storage in those devices of all content, including high- value content, which individual copyright owners and cable operators may have voluntarily negotiated to treat as ‘copy never.'” To ease such concerns, MPAA said “the only alternative” for cable operators would be to “turn off the OpenCable box” and prevent DTV programming from reaching consumers. It said such result “would have a negative effect on consumer expectations, particularly if they were not given adequate notice from equipment manufacturers.” MPAA said it would continue to work through those and other issues with CableLabs and 5C companies “in a prompt, good-faith and constructive manner.”