Pirates Beware: We're Watching
General IP Issues
1/3/2001; 9:31:53 PM

'Content companies are slowly coming to realize that digital rights management solutions can't stop the file-trading frenzy that has gripped the Internet.

'So while continuing to work with encryption companies like Liquid Audio and Supertracks to come up with a solution that will protect their content, music and movie companies are doing what they can. New monitoring applications allow them to attack piracy not at the user level, but by going directly to the service provider.'

Aside: Am I the only person who doesn't think software should be called "technology"?  Hardware is technology, software is, well, software.  Anyhow...

''Unfortunately for the music and movie companies, life ain't that simple. Any "Jabroni" with half a brain (to use lingo coined by WWF wrestler The Rock) can circumvent it....

'"If you flip every bit in the MP3 (just invert it), then they wouldn't be able to recognize it. On the other end, just flip 'em back. Piece of cake to do; they'd have to update their software to check for the flipped bits."'

I hereby charge Wired with a violation of the DMCA for distributing a circumvention technique. (What am I circumventing? Why, the digital rights management technology! It's only a matter of time before a court finds that illegal to circumvent under the DMCA...)

'The system has three series of machines. The first houses a database of media which has been provided by content companies. The second brings content in from the Web. The third samples the incoming media and compares it with the database.'

Do they really pull it in from the web, or is this another example of "The Web Is The Internet Is The Web" error? If so, then I wouldn't worry much... who gets MP3's off of the web, anyhow?