SDMI Fails to Reach Consenus on Security
The Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) has failed to decide on final components for an anti-piracy system for portable playback devices and CDs, missing a crucial deadline and delaying continued discussion until September. After a meeting in Amsterdam this week, SDMI said its members, comprised of nearly 200 software, consumer electronics, computer and music companies, couldn't reach a consensus on any combination of watermarking and verification technologies that would screen digital music files and make sure they are legitimately acquired. SDMI had intended to finalize the system by June. The failure to resolve technical matters that have been on the table since January make it highly unlikely that SDMI will be able to produce a final security standard that music and technology companies can implement before the holiday shopping season. Most important, SDMI's unfulfilled two-and-a-half-year quest for music security may force its member industries to settle privately on interoperable security technology, which could further delay the acceptance of such technology by consumers.
