DVD Copy Control Association
Encyclopedia
The DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA) is an organization primarily responsible for the copy protection
of Blu-ray Disc
s and DVD
s. The Content Scramble System
(CSS) was devised for this purpose to make copyright infringement
difficult, but also presents obstacles to some legitimate uses
of the media. The association is also responsible for the controversial Regional Playback Control
(RPC), the region encoding scheme which gives movie studios geographic control over DVD distribution.
As of 2001, members included film distributors such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros.
They filed the much publicized case versus Jon Johansen whom they alleged wrote DeCSS
. The case was dropped in January 2004. CSS decrypting software (such as DVD Decrypter
, AnyDVD
, and DVD Shrink
) allows a region-specific DVD to be copied as an all-region DVD. It also removes Macrovision
, Content Scrambling System (CSS), region codes
, and user operation prohibition
s. Additionally, they also filed a suit DVD CCA v. Bunner against people who distributed DeCSS
, seeking injunction to stop further distribution based on trade secret claims. The injunction was eventually denied because CSS was no longer a secret by the time litigation occurred.
, for example:
Copy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
of Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
s and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s. The Content Scramble System
Content Scramble System
Content Scramble System is a Digital Rights Management and encryption system employed on almost all commercially produced DVD-Video discs. CSS utilizes a proprietary 40-bit stream cipher algorithm...
(CSS) was devised for this purpose to make copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
difficult, but also presents obstacles to some legitimate uses
Fair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
of the media. The association is also responsible for the controversial Regional Playback Control
Regional Playback Control
RPC-1 and RPC-2 are designations applied to firmware for DVD drives. Older DVD drives use RPC-1 firmware, which allows DVDs from any region to play. Newer drives use RPC-2 firmware, which enforces DVD region coding at the hardware level...
(RPC), the region encoding scheme which gives movie studios geographic control over DVD distribution.
As of 2001, members included film distributors such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros.
They filed the much publicized case versus Jon Johansen whom they alleged wrote DeCSS
DeCSS
DeCSS is a computer program capable of decrypting content on a commercially produced DVD video disc. Before the release of DeCSS, there was no way for computers running a Linux-based operating system to play video DVDs....
. The case was dropped in January 2004. CSS decrypting software (such as DVD Decrypter
DVD Decrypter
DVD Decrypter is a software application for Microsoft Windows that can create backup disk images of the DVD-Video structure of DVDs. It can be used to image any DVD, but controversially it is especially useful for decrypting copy protected movies. The program can also record images to disc...
, AnyDVD
AnyDVD
AnyDVD is a Microsoft Windows driver allowing decryption of DVDs on-the-fly, as well as targeted removal of copy preventions and user operation prohibitions . With an upgrade, it will also do the same for HD DVD and Blu-ray. The AnyDVD program runs in the background, making discs unrestricted and...
, and DVD Shrink
DVD Shrink
DVD Shrink is a freeware DVD transcoder program for Microsoft Windows that uses a DVD ripper to back up DVD movies. The final versions are 3.2.0.15 and 3.2.0.16 ; all other versions, such as DVD Shrink 2010, are scams...
) allows a region-specific DVD to be copied as an all-region DVD. It also removes Macrovision
Macrovision
Rovi Corporation is a globally operating, US-based company that provides guidance technology, entertainment data, copy protection, industry standard networking and media management technology for digital entertainment devices and services...
, Content Scrambling System (CSS), region codes
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
, and user operation prohibition
User operation prohibition
The user operation prohibition is a form of use restriction used on video DVD discs and Blu-ray discs. Most DVD players and Blu-ray players prohibit the viewer from performing a large majority of actions during sections of a DVD that are protected or restricted by this feature, and will display...
s. Additionally, they also filed a suit DVD CCA v. Bunner against people who distributed DeCSS
DeCSS
DeCSS is a computer program capable of decrypting content on a commercially produced DVD video disc. Before the release of DeCSS, there was no way for computers running a Linux-based operating system to play video DVDs....
, seeking injunction to stop further distribution based on trade secret claims. The injunction was eventually denied because CSS was no longer a secret by the time litigation occurred.
Features restricted by manufacturers
All hardware manufacturers (especially DVD player/burner manufacturers) implement DVD CCA-mandated enforcement features on their products; some even go beyond that and implement additional features to restrict rippingRipping
Ripping is the process of copying audio or video content to a hard disk, typically from removable media. The word is used to refer to all forms of media. Despite the name, neither the media nor the data is damaged after extraction....
, for example:
- RIPLOCK: many manufacturers put an artificial limit, or lock, on rippingRippingRipping is the process of copying audio or video content to a hard disk, typically from removable media. The word is used to refer to all forms of media. Despite the name, neither the media nor the data is damaged after extraction....
speeds. Some of these drives have alternative 3rd-party firmware that have this removed to enable faster rippingRippingRipping is the process of copying audio or video content to a hard disk, typically from removable media. The word is used to refer to all forms of media. Despite the name, neither the media nor the data is damaged after extraction....
. See the RPC-1 Firmware Site for example.
- RPC-1: there is a region code present on the drive, and it will be changed if a DVD from another region is read. Usually, there is no limit on the number of DVD region changes that can be made.
- RPC-2: some manufacturers put a limit on the number of times that a drive's region code setting can be changed (say, 5 times or less); after this number of changes, the drive becomes "locked" on the last region set and is unable to be changed. Some alternative 3rd-party firmware have this limit removed to enable unlimited region changes. It is also possible, even on an unmodified drive, to perform a brute-force attack on the DVD's encryption to overcome the region limitations.
- Bitsetting/Booktyping: this is a feature which makes DVD+Rs readable by older DVD players that can play DVD-ROMS only. Some manufacturers disable this feature on their drives. Again, some alternative 3rd-party firmware can enable this so that burned DVDs appear as DVD-ROMs and are playable by older DVD players.
See also
- DVD region codeDVD region codeDVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
- Blu-ray region code
- Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, the successor of DVD - DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. BunnerDVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. BunnerDVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. Bunner, was a lawsuit that was filed by the DVD Copy Control Association in California, accusing Andrew Bunner and several others of misappropriation of trade secrets under California's implementation of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act...
- Universal v. ReimerdesUniversal v. ReimerdesUniversal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes was the first test of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act , a United States federal law.The plaintiffs, 8 movie studios, successfully sought an injunction against the distribution of DeCSS, a program capable of decrypting content protected using the...
- DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. Kaleidescape, Inc.DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. Kaleidescape, Inc.DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. Kaleidescape, Inc., 176 Cal. App. 4th 697 is a legal case heard by the California Court of Appeal concerning breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. It discusses incorporation by reference regarding a supplemental...
- RealNetworks, Inc. v. DVD Copy Control Association, Inc.