AACS body proposes DRM ease-up

IT SEEMS THAT THE brouhaha over DRM might persuade the copyright cops to leave consumers with some of the rights they already have. Like the right to make a copy of a disk you own, just in case you lose or knacker the original.

As the copy control body in charge of AACS (Advanced Access Content System) tries to work out its best line of attack, a spokesman, Michael Ayers, admitted it may make some concessions to consumers over what it thinks they should be able to do with their blu-ray of HD-DVD discs.

According to Infoworld, Ayres said his association was proposing to media moguls that consumers should be allowed to make a copy of two of their purchased discs.

This is under a concept known as "managed copy" and Ayres reckons it'll help boost sales. Ominously he added, referring to the possibilty that copiers may pass their copies on to neighbours: "Studios will have to take that into account when they select pricing." µ