Submitted by: arnesr
BBC Worldwide Licenses Macrovision's SafeDisc Technology CD-ROM Copy Protection LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2000--Macrovision UK Limited, a subsidiary of Macrovision Corporation of Sunnyvale, California (Nasdaq: MVSN) announced today that BBC Worldwide will use SafeDisc® CD-ROM copy protection on its new multimedia title, The Tweenies. This is another important breakthrough for SafeDisc into non-games titles following its success in the software gaming industry last year. The increasing market penetration of CD-recordable devices has led to software publishers rethinking their protection strategies for traditionally unprotected products in the educational, reference and business application areas. Gerry Clark, Technical Development Director at BBC Worldwide commented: "With the increasing availability of copying devices, BBC Worldwide feels it has to protect its branded Multimedia titles." The total estimated value of unauthorized copies of PC application software CD-ROMs among consumer households is estimated to approach $675 million in 1999 in the U.S., according to a study sponsored by Macrovision Corporation and conducted in February, 2000 by San Mateo, CA-based Merrill Research & Associates. In 69% of the cases where unauthorized copies were made or borrowed, respondents indicated they would have purchased the software if copying were not an option. The survey found that 20% of surveyed households have a CD-recordable drive currently installed in their ousehold/home office. This represents a dramatic 200% increase in one year over the percentage of households that reported owning CD-recordable drives in Merrill Research's March 1999 study. "We believe these casual copying study results may, if anything, underestimate overall losses due to consumer copying," said Dr. Joseph Wheeler, general partner at Merrill Research. "For instance, some respondents may not want to admit to involvement in unauthorized copying. "Only 37% of respondents in the current study said they had not or would not copy application software. In addition, the study did not measure copying of application software in group-living situations such as college dormitories. Nevertheless, we believe the results provide an excellent benchmark from which trends in unauthorized copying can be evaluated." |
