The main threat that will expose users to risks when sharing copyrighted materials is the inclusion of DRM technologies within almost all tools allowing you to make copies for private use.
I have already suspiscion with various MP3 encoders (notably the iTunes encoder under licence of Fraunhofer/Thomson Multimedia). Don't forget that Fraunhofer&Thomon have already demonstrated the interest of the new MP3+DRM format that will be fully compatible with the MP3 format.
Apple, Microsoft and RealNetworks have already accepted this format. And they will integrate it officially at end of year. The users won't know whever the MP3 they create will be DRM protected. Already, you need to sign a licence and authorize the software to include cookies that will be recorded in the databases of these providers, made available to their advertizing partners but also to legal injuctions, or simply to any paries that claim a "public interest" to disclose these records.
Read the licence of iTunes for example. You'll learn lots of things on what Apple is allowed to do with your private data (your identity). Similar featured terms are in Windows Media and RealOne Player.
In a near future, the best tool to create MP3s could become dedicated hardwares built by Asian OEM manufacturers, if they can be imported, because you won't need to register and sign a licence to buy and use these appliances.
The end of year will be hot. I fear that lots of things will change in a very near future. This may explain why now lots of commercial services have started to be finally deployed to sell legal downloadable music on the Internet: these services now are confident that DRM will work and protect their investment.
Already CDDB has tracking features to help localte users that first share a copyrighted material, or to track illegal importators of zoned products. Read the user licence for the CDDB client embedded into your favorite player. FreeDb is a replacement, but FreeDb will not be supported by almost all commercial and popular products, unless there's a defence organized to create alternative formats, and a market organized to allow choosing products without DRM features. |