Sony Corp, the world's second-largest consumer-electronics maker, said it has developed software incorporating new technology to enhance the copyright protection of music and movies available through the Internet.
The software, using a technology called "OpenMG X," provides distributors more control over how their digital content is used, Sony said.
For instance, it will allow content providers to limit the number of times a song can be copied and played.
Movies, music and games are now readily available for swapping over the Internet, sparking concern among record companies and movie studios. Sony has blamed digital piracy for eroding profit at its music business, which posted a loss of ?10.3 billion (US$85 million) in the three months ended June 30.
Sony has more at stake in protecting digital copyrights than earnings at its music operations. The creator of the Walkman personal stereo plans to release several models of its Vaio PCs later this year that will act as home servers, powerful computers capable of storing and playing movies and music in digital form.
Next year, the company will release versions of its Wega televisions with the capability of allowing users to download digitalized content.
In addition to manufacturing the products on which digital music and movie files are played, Sony is also a content provider and has fought to protect the value of its products.
Sony is the parent company of Columbia Pictures, which released this summer's box-office hit Spider-Man. As well, Sony counts Mariah Carey among its list of music artists.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS