Copy Protection Systems
Protection of intellectual property and protection against illegal copying of discs is currently one of the most important problems with which the manufactures of software and computer games, phonographic companies, film studios and DVD distributors struggle.
The provisions of law in theory concern the protection of intellectual property. In the case of optical media, companies interested in this issue apply a range of other protections which are aimed at ensuring and guaranteeing appropriate protection.
The following guarantee the complete legality and security of each disc manufactured by GM Records:
• The use of an SID CODE organised by the IFPI within the identification program;
• Possession of Philips, Toshiba, MPEG LA and DVD FLLC licences;
• Possession of licences for application of the following protection of optical media
against illegal copying: Macrovision Safe Disc, Star Force and the Copy Control
Association’s Content Scrambling System (CSS).
• The use of an SID CODE organised by the IFPI within the identification program;
• Possession of Philips, Toshiba, MPEG LA and DVD FLLC licences;
• Possession of licences for application of the following protection of optical media
against illegal copying: Macrovision Safe Disc, Star Force and the Copy Control
Association’s Content Scrambling System (CSS).
CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs
- Star Force
protects the application initiating the disc (.exe files) against initiating copied discs or a copy on a hard drive
DVD-VIDEO DISCS
- Analog Copy Protection (ACP), popularly called Macrovision,
prevents the copying of DVDs using an analogue signal, e.g. onto VHS tape.
- Content Scrambling System (CSS)
protects the disc with a special code without which it is impossible to copy the content of the disc onto another disc or hard drive, while there are no problems caused with playback in the case of CSS; half of the protection is added during the authoring phase, the rest is added during mastering.
Another means of protection is the so-called REGIONAL BLOCK, which does not allow playback of a disc in a region other than is recorded on it.
DVD REGIONS FOR THE REGIONAL BLOCK
1 - the U.S., Canada
2 - Europe, including France, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, the Middle East, Japan, South
Africa
3 - Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Indonesia
4 - Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Caribbean, South America
5 - India, Africa, Russia, and countries of the former USSR
6 - China
2 - Europe, including France, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, the Middle East, Japan, South
Africa
3 - Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Indonesia
4 - Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Caribbean, South America
5 - India, Africa, Russia, and countries of the former USSR
6 - China
Popular and the most frequently encountered forms of protection:
|
Type of
protection
|
Licensor |
Application | |||
| DVD-Rom | DVD-Video | CD-Rom | CD-Audio | ||
| StarForce | StarForce | + | + | ||
| Analog Copy Protection |
Macrovision Corporation |
+ | |||
| RipGuard | Macrovision Corporation |
+ | |||
| CDS | Macrovision Corporation |
+ | |||
| CSS | DVD Copy Control Association | + | |||
| Tages | Thomson & MPO | + | + | ||
In the case of DVD, to protect children a so-called parental block is used, which prevents children from playing the disc back or from viewing selected scenes.