James Delahunty
30 May 2005 7:55
Sony BMG is testing CDs featuring technology from UK anti-piracy specialist First4Internet, that allows customers to only make a limit number of copies of the CD and doesn't allow copied CDs to be copied again. This concept is known as "sterile burning" and according to Sony BMG, it is vital for their battle against casual CD burning. "The casual piracy, the school-yard piracy, is a huge issue for us," Thomas Hesse said, president of global digital business for Sony BMG. "Two-thirds of all piracy comes from ripping and burning CDs, which is why making the CD a secure format is of the utmost importance."
Titles of upcoming CDs that will carry this technology were not disclosed but since March, Sony BMG has released about 10 titles (which would easily be about 1 million CDs) featuring the new anti-burning technology. First4Internet is not the only partner that will be involved in this effort; other partners are expected to begin trials of sterile burning too. To date, DRM protected music downloads and copy protected CDs have not included any sort of secure burning.
Music purchased from stores like Apple's iTunes can be burned to CDs as unprotected streams, which means it can easily be ripped again after it is burned, and the resulting files will contain absolutely no DRM protection. Under the new solution, tracks would be ripped from a disc Microsoft's Windows Media Audio (WMA) format. If a CD is burned with protected audio, the DRM on the disc prevents it from being burned again. "The secure burning solution is the sensible way forward," First4Internet chief executive officer Mathew Gilliat-Smith said. "Most consumers accept that making a copy for personal use is really what they want it for."
Source:
ABC News