Digital Transition Content Security Act
Encyclopedia
The United States
The Digital Transition Content Security Act (DTCSA, H.R. 4569) was a bill
introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr.
, a Wisconsin Republican, on December 16, 2005. The bill was backed by Democratic Rep. John Conyers
.
Its goal is "To require certain analog conversion devices to preserve digital content security measures.", i.e. plugging the analog hole
. The bill effectively proposes mandating of the Veil Rights Assertion Mark
technology into new video-handling consumer devices.
Chairman Dan Glickman
applauded the bill, saying it was a "very important piece of legislation that will promote more consumer choice as it protects copyright owners in the digital age."
President Gigi Sohn
testified before the House Judiciary Committee (United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
. Oversight Hearing on "Content Protection in the Digital Age: The Broadcast Flag, High-Definition Radio, and the Analog Hole") on November 3. She stated:
"The broad, sweeping draft legislation to close the analog hole suffers from the same problem; it puts the government in the role of making industrial policy, and will severely limit consumers’ ability to make lawful uses of copyrighted content. Like the broadcast flag
, the legislation mandates a one-size-fits-all technology that has not been the subject of public or even inter-industry scrutiny. The prohibitions in the legislation would require redesign of a whole range of currently legal consumer devices, including DVD recorders, personal video recorders and camcorders with video inputs. Importantly, the existence of the analog hole has been touted as a "safety valve" for making fair use of digital media products where circumventing the technological locks has been rendered illegal by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
. Should Congress close that hole without amending the DMCA to protect fair use
, consumers' rights
to access digital copyrighted works will be eroded even further.
There are better alternatives for protecting digital content than the heavy-handed technology mandates proposed here today. Those alternatives are a multi-pronged approach of consumer education, enforcement of copyright laws and use of technological tools developed in the marketplace, not mandated by government. The recent Grokster decision
and the passage of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act
, which you spearheaded, Mr. Chairman, are just two of several new tools that the content industry has at its disposal to protect its content."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
The Digital Transition Content Security Act (DTCSA, H.R. 4569) was a bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr.
Jim Sensenbrenner
Frank James Sensenbrenner, Jr. is an American politician who has been a member of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives since 1979, representing . The district, the state's richest, includes many of Milwaukee's northern and western suburbs, and extends into rural...
, a Wisconsin Republican, on December 16, 2005. The bill was backed by Democratic Rep. John Conyers
John Conyers
John Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
.
Its goal is "To require certain analog conversion devices to preserve digital content security measures.", i.e. plugging the analog hole
Analog hole
The analog hole is a fundamental and inevitable vulnerability in copy protection schemes for noninteractive works in digital formats which can be exploited to duplicate copy-protected works that are ultimately reproduced using analog means...
. The bill effectively proposes mandating of the Veil Rights Assertion Mark
Video Encoded Invisible Light
Video Encoded Invisible Light is a technology for encoding low-bandwidth digital data bitstream in video signal, developed by VEIL Interactive Technologies. VEIL is compatible with multiple formats of video signals, including PAL, SECAM, and NTSC...
technology into new video-handling consumer devices.
Advocates
MPAAMotion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
Chairman Dan Glickman
Dan Glickman
Daniel Robert "Dan" Glickman is an American businessman and politician. He served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture from 1995 until 2001, prior to which he represented the Fourth Congressional District of Kansas as a Democrat in Congress for 18 years. He was Chairman and CEO of the...
applauded the bill, saying it was a "very important piece of legislation that will promote more consumer choice as it protects copyright owners in the digital age."
Critics
Public KnowledgePublic Knowledge
Public Knowledge is a non-profit Washington, D.C.-based public interest group that is involved in intellectual property law, competition, and choice in the digital marketplace, and an open standards/end-to-end internet....
President Gigi Sohn
Gigi Sohn
Gigi Sohn is president and co-founder of Public Knowledge. She was formerly with the Ford Foundation. She graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in Broadcasting and Film and earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School...
testified before the House Judiciary Committee (United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, and Competition Policy and Administrative Law is a subcommittee within the House committee on the Judiciary.-Members, 112th Congress:- External links :*...
. Oversight Hearing on "Content Protection in the Digital Age: The Broadcast Flag, High-Definition Radio, and the Analog Hole") on November 3. She stated:
"The broad, sweeping draft legislation to close the analog hole suffers from the same problem; it puts the government in the role of making industrial policy, and will severely limit consumers’ ability to make lawful uses of copyrighted content. Like the broadcast flag
Broadcast flag
A broadcast flag is a set of status bits sent in the data stream of a digital television program that indicates whether or not the data stream can be recorded, or if there are any restrictions on recorded content...
, the legislation mandates a one-size-fits-all technology that has not been the subject of public or even inter-industry scrutiny. The prohibitions in the legislation would require redesign of a whole range of currently legal consumer devices, including DVD recorders, personal video recorders and camcorders with video inputs. Importantly, the existence of the analog hole has been touted as a "safety valve" for making fair use of digital media products where circumventing the technological locks has been rendered illegal by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
. Should Congress close that hole without amending the DMCA to protect fair use
Fair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
, consumers' rights
Consumer protection
Consumer protection laws designed to ensure fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional...
to access digital copyrighted works will be eroded even further.
There are better alternatives for protecting digital content than the heavy-handed technology mandates proposed here today. Those alternatives are a multi-pronged approach of consumer education, enforcement of copyright laws and use of technological tools developed in the marketplace, not mandated by government. The recent Grokster decision
MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.
MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. 545 U.S. 913 is a United States Supreme Court decision in which the Court unanimously held that defendant P2P file sharing companies Grokster and Streamcast could be sued for inducing copyright infringement for acts taken in the course of marketing file sharing...
and the passage of the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act
Family Entertainment and Copyright Act
The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act is a federal legislative act regarding copyright that became law in the United States in 2005. The Act consists of two subparts: the Artist's Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2005, which increases penalties for copyright infringement, and the Family...
, which you spearheaded, Mr. Chairman, are just two of several new tools that the content industry has at its disposal to protect its content."
Secrecy
Ed Felten, a respected Computer Scientist, has criticized the law for its secrecy. He calls it a "secret law — a requirement that all devices that accept analog video inputs must implement a secret technical specification for something called a VEIL detector. If you want to see this specification, you have to pay a $10,000 fee to a private company and you have to promise not to tell anyone about the technology. It’s pretty disturbing that our representatives would propose this kind of secret law."See also
- Digital Millennium Copyright ActDigital Millennium Copyright ActThe Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
- Digital Content Protection Act of 2006 http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/98
- Intellectual property legislation pending in the United States Congress
External links
- Full text of the Bill
- H.R. 4569: The Digital Transition Content Security Act of 2005 from Public KnowledgePublic KnowledgePublic Knowledge is a non-profit Washington, D.C.-based public interest group that is involved in intellectual property law, competition, and choice in the digital marketplace, and an open standards/end-to-end internet....
- U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary News Advisory (PDF), December 16, 2005
- "Analog hole" legislation introduced", Ars TechnicaArs TechnicaArs Technica is a technology news and information website created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, science, technology policy, and video games. Ars Technica is known for its features, long articles that go...
, December 18, 2005 - Forum to discuss the digital transition
- Digital Transition - news and information
Criticism
- "A Lump of Coal for Consumers: Analog Hole Bill Introduced", EFFElectronic Frontier FoundationThe Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
, December 16, 2005 - "Analog Hole Bill Requires “Open and Public” Discussion of Secret Technology", Edward FeltenEdward FeltenEdward William Felten is a professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton University. On November 4, 2010 he was named the Chief Technologist for the United States Federal Trade Commission, a position he officially assumed January 3, 2011.Felten has done a variety of computer...
, February 8, 2006 - "VEIL Technology: Four Patents & an Application", Kathryn CramerKathryn CramerKathryn Elizabeth Cramer is an American science fiction author, editor, and literary critic.- Life :Cramer grew up in Seattle, and currently lives in Pleasantville, New York with her husband David G. Hartwell and their two children. She is the daughter of physicist John G. Cramer...
, February 22, 2006