Microsoft unveils CD pirate-proofing

[Hull_chipper]

By Nick Farrell [20-01-2003]
New software can control unauthorised copying, claims Redmond
Microsoft claims it has invented a system of preventing CDs from being illegally copied.
The software giant is the latest to come up with a solution to what has been a major problem to the music industry.

Last year, software enthusiasts cracked Sony Music's proprietary technology simply by scribbling around the edges of protected discs with a marker pen to allow playback.

According to Reuters, Microsoft believes it may have come up with a better system with its new software, called Windows Media Data Session Toolkit.

The system enables music labels to lay songs onto a copy-controlled CD (one that allows playback on a stereo and a PC) in multiple layers.

According to David Fester, general manager of digital media entertainment for Microsoft, the PC layer, laid digitally on the same disc, can be modified by the content provider so that burning songs onto another CD, for example, can be prevented.

Microsoft claims that Universal Music and EMI "are very excited about this because it enables the industry to build a CD with their own protections built in."

Microsoft has spent more than $500m (£311m) on digital rights management for music, Fester said.

The Toolkit was co-developed with technology partners SunnComm Technologies and France's MPO International Group, he added.