RIAA, tech companies agree on copyright plan

Copying music, even from a CD you bought to your own MP3 player, has been a contentious issue for the Recording Industry Association of America, the group representing music companies, and the companies that supply the technology to make the copies. It’s gotten to the point where Congress is looking into legislation covering how a piece of digital content can be used. But an agreement that is supposed to be announced today, the RIAA and a technology companies have agreed on a plan regarding copyright material and digital devices.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but this agreement could fend off some legislation that would have mandated government-approved digital right management technology be embedded in every electronic device capable of playing copyright material. This would be expensive for the tech companies, they argued. In return for making the agreement, the tech companies (Dell, IBM, Adobe, Apple and others) agree to agressive policies to prevent digital piracy.

Absent from the deal is the Motion Picture Association of America – the same group that tried to outlaw the VCR years ago. Some believe the deal isolates them politically, so they could come around in the end. They did on the VCR and look how much money they made off rentals.