HIT Entertainment has licensed RipGuard DVD, which, combined with Macrovision Analogue Content Protection (ACP) technology, offers protection from both digital and analogue copyright theft.

DeCSS ripping breaks the CSS encryption found on DVDs and places these unprotected files onto a PC, where they can be burned onto inexpensive recordable DVDs or shared over P2P networks. Globally, over six million households use eCSS rippers – a figure that suggests the practice is approaching critical mass.

According to the British Video Association (BVA), GBP714 million was the total retail value of cannibalized sales from digital and physical copyright theft across the audiovisual sector in the UK throughout 2005.

Macrovision ACP for DVD prevents or distorts copies of DVDs made over an analogue interface to DVD recorders, PCs, and digital video recorders, in addition to D-VHS recorders (DVRs) and VCRs. By preventing copying onto digital devices, Macrovision ACP dramatically reduces the digital sharing of this content, including sharing among PCs, DVRs and over peer-to-peer networks.

RipGuard DVD, meanwhile, is a unilateral content protection system that is applied to DVD discs.

With the threat of both digital and analogue piracy becoming more apparent with children’s DVDs, it is essential that our new programs are comprehensively protected, said David King, vice president of entertainment at HIT Entertainment. The integration of Macrovision’s technology with our DVD portfolio helps to preserve the quality standards our customers expect and deters piracy, which is such a destructive force in the entertainment industry and society alike.

According to the latest results of research conducted by the BVA, DVD ripping and burning for private use is carried out by 3% of the British mainland population. Over a 12-month period, this results in the production of 9.5 million illegally copied DVDs.

This figure does not include copies bought from street traders, where it is estimated an additional 17 million units are in circulation in mainland Britain alone, netting a criminal gain of over GBP26 million annually.

HIT’s deal with Macrovision is a welcome move for the industry at large, as it is important for rights owners to not only secure their assets, but also to be seen making an effort to protect their assets, said Lavinia Carey, director general of the BVA. Such measures highlight the seriousness and importance of rights protection, and encourage public enforcement agencies to make IP crime a priority.