Presentation at Digital TV: Beyond HD and HDTV conference, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia Business School, November 2007, New York City.

1. Slide 1
Digital Rights and Digital TV
Bill Rosenblatt
GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies
billr@giantstepsmts.com
(212) 956-1045
www.giantstepsmts.com
© 2007
GiantSteps 1
Media Technology Strategies

2. Slide 2
Purposes of DRM
Curb misuse of content
Enable new content business models
Track content usage
Lock consumers into technology platforms
or content formats
© 2007
GiantSteps 2
Media Technology Strategies

3. Slide 3
Perspectives on DRM
“DRM technologies … keep honest people honest”
-- Fritz Attaway, MPAA
“Trying to make digital files uncopyable is like trying
to make water not wet”
-- Bruce Schneier, BT Counterpane
(noted cryptography expert)
© 2007
GiantSteps 3
Media Technology Strategies

4. Slide 4
The DRM Conundrum
 Content owners
– …require technical protection as condition of licensing
– …try to fight the piracy battle on all fronts (law, technology,
education)
– …will not subsidize DRM
 Technology vendors
– …want to sell new technologies that implement new content models
– …see the Digital Home as the next huge opportunity
– …see DRM as a necessary evil to get content licenses
 Consumers
– …want to consume content in convenient ways
– …may enjoy new business models (e.g. subscription services)
– …generally dislike DRM
© 2007
GiantSteps 4
Media Technology Strategies

5. Slide 5
Digital Rights Technologies
Encryption
– “Classic DRM”
Content Identification
– Watermarking
– Fingerprinting
Rights Information Management
– B-to-B
© 2007
GiantSteps 5
Media Technology Strategies

6. Slide 6
DRM Domains
Head End to
Gateway
Device
Personal Network
© 2007
6

7. Slide 7
Head End to Gateway Device
Successor technology to Conditional Access
Encrypt the link
– Cable, satellite, IPTV
Pass along rights information
– From offers in subscriber management system
– To gateway device, e.g. STB
Minimize cost of incremental hardware in gateway
device
– Encourage adoption by gateway device makers
© 2007
GiantSteps 7
Media Technology Strategies

8. Slide 8
Gateway Device to Personal Network
Allow reasonable use throughout personal networks
– Play on any monitor
– Store for playback later
– Transfer to portable device
Content owners becoming comfortable with this
Consumer electronics makers see next big market
Consumers generally scratching their heads (so far)
© 2007
GiantSteps 8
Media Technology Strategies

9. Slide 9
DRM Schemes for Personal Networks:
The Axes of Power
 Goal: become the control center & gatekeeper
 Set-top box axis: NDS, Thomson, Humax, Pace Micro,…
– Secure Video Processor (SVP) Alliance
 Media player axis: Sony, Philips, Samsung, Matsushita
– Marlin
 Mobile handset axis: Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson,…
– Open Mobile Alliance DRM 2.0
 Microsoft (axis unto itself):
– Windows Media DRM, Microsoft Media Transfer Protocol
 Apple
– Maybe, someday…
© 2007
GiantSteps 9
Media Technology Strategies

10. Slide 10
Interoperability
Among existing DRMs
– Coral Consortium (standards group):
everybody but service providers
De facto standards
– See “axes”
Escape to analog
– Domain of copyright law and Fair Use
Hack
– Anticircumvention law
© 2007
GiantSteps 10
Media Technology Strategies

11. Slide 11
Watermarking
© 2007
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Media Technology Strategies

12. Slide 12
Video Fingerprinting
 Examining content in order to identify it
– “Take its fingerprint”
– Filter: block identified content from upload
– Or do something else – serve a related ad, charge a fee, etc.
 Reasonably proven technology for music
– Less proven for video
 Bone of contention in Viacom v. Google litigation
– Attempt to extend Grokster and secondary liability law to include a
duty to filter
 Focus of “UCG Principles” document
– CBS, DailyMotion, Disney, News Corp, NBCU, Veoh, Viacom, Microsoft
– Encompasses fingerprinting or watermarking
© 2007
GiantSteps 12
Media Technology Strategies

13. Slide 13
Bill Rosenblatt
billr@giantstepsmts.com
(212) 956-1045
www.giantstepsmts.com
© 2007
GiantSteps 13
Media Technology Strategies