Blackmoor Vituperative

You know how I keep saying that intellectual property laws in the US will get much worse before they get better? Things just got a little bit worse. Macrovision, the Reinhard Heydrich of the “digital rights management” regime, is creeping inexorably into everything you see or hear.

The problem is Macrovision, a copy-protection scheme that among other things can prevent you from recording shows on a VCR or from a DVD. TiVo’s implementation of Macrovision has recently caused the company to introduce a crippling feature to the TiVo service. A recent TiVo software update limits your ability to record or keep some shows. For instance, a show may delete itself after seven days whether you want it to or not, and you’re not allowed to change that option. Also, some shows will delete themselves within 24 hours after you start to watch them, whether you’re finished watching or not. Even worse, Macrovision can designate some shows CopyNever–not allowing them to be recorded at all. There are already real examples of this happening.

(from CNet, Don’t let TiVo copy protection ruin your life)

Remember the Sony vs. Universal case that said that it is legal to make copies of TV shows on your VCR and view them later, even — gasp! — fast-forwarding through commercials? Forget that. Thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, copyright holders can impose any restrictions they like on the content you pay for, and it’s a crime for you to circumvent those restrictions, even if your reasons for doing so fall plainly into the realm of fair use.

It’s going to get much worse before it gets better. If it gets better.