SunnComm Technologies, one of several companies developing anti-CD copying products, has licensed a new technique that can hide data, video, software or an identifying watermark inside music files.
The company said Thursday that it is working with Stealth MediaLabs to create a kind of super-watermark that can be embedded inside music files, which–the companies contend–can survive if the song is digitally compressed, rerecorded through an analog connection, or even if the song is recorded off the radio.
SunnComm realized that the watermark-like technology, originally licensed with the intent of helping to bolster copy protection, can also carry other data such as liner notes or pictures, executives said. The company is focusing on the copy-protection uses but also will work with record labels that may be interested in embedding other information.
“The intention was for protecting the security of intellectual property,” said SunnComm Chief Operating Officer Bill Whitmore. “Adding pictures and liner notes inside the song is kind of a byproduct.”
The new technology, developed originally at the University of Miami, could help SunnComm gain traction in a business that has for years been hampered by concerns about its market viability. Record labels consistently say that they want a way to protect CDs against unauthorized copying, but have so far maintained that the technology available from SunnComm, Macromedia, Sony and a handful of other vendors is not quite ready for prime time.
Typically, labels have been concerned that copy-protected CDs have not worked in all CD players, have been incompatible with some computers, and have sparked considerable backlash from consumers. Nevertheless, labels remain eager to find technology that would avoid these problems.
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