I think I've written about this story enough (Twenty-one Oscar Screeners on the Internet? and Another Screener on the Internet and A Beam in Hollywood's Eye), so this will be the last post on this subject for a bit (unless something really interesting happens). But, according to an AP wirestory in the Monterey Herald, Hollywood has acknowledge yet another screener on the internet and one on an auction site (Two new copies of movies sent to Oscar voters offered on Internet).
The copies have been traced to a technologist, Ivan Kruglak, president of a wireless data communications company who won Oscars in 1999 "For his commitment to the development of a wireless transmission system for video-assisted images for the motion picture industry" and "For his pioneering concept and the development of the Coherent Time Code Slate." Kruglak proclaims his innocence, "I firmly believe someone at the duplicating house made themselves a copy before the studio sent it to me." If true, it proves that Hollywood's vaunted efforts to protect its films from showing up on the internet is a joke.
This shows that either Hollywood can't keep their own duplication houses in line or the members of the Academy are lying infringers. Nevertheless, Hollywood calls on consumers to be punished with onerous DRM and thrown in jail for bringing a videocamera (such as a cellphone/camera) into a movie theater.
via Techdirt
I'm sure Hollywood would like to punish both insiders and consumers who pirate films. There's no inconsistency or hypocrisy here. It's just that they have a big job on their hands and they're only beginning to grapple with it.
Posted by Cypherpunk on January 15, 2004 12:14 PM | Permalink to Comment