Thomson Announces FCC Approval Of SmartRight Digital Content Protection System As ""Broadcast Flag"" Technology

SmartRight Among A Select Group of ìFirst Approvedî Technologies, Initiative Supported by Content Owners for Superior Protection Against Internet Redistribution

5-Aug-04

Thomson announced that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the SmartRight digital content protection system as a technology that can effectively prevent unauthorized, indiscriminate Internet redistribution of digital broadcast content. The FCC's approval of SmartRight places it among an elite group of ""first-approved"" technologies eligible for licensing by manufacturers of all consumer electronic and personal computing products that receive and/or handle digitally broadcast content. Rules adopted by the Commission in 2003 require all such digital television devices to incorporate FCC-approved ""broadcast flag"" technologies by July 1, 2005. Designed by Thomson and other members of the SmartRight Association as the next-generation content protection system for digital home networks, SmartRight accomplishes the FCC's ""Broadcast Flag"" objectives by offering content owners a secure and pervasive method, employing multiple redundancies, to protect their digitally-broadcast works from indiscriminate redistribution over the Internet. SmartRight not only preserves, but also enhances, consumers' use and enjoyment of digital television. ""We are very pleased with the FCC's approval of SmartRight as a digital broadcast content protection technology that can affirmatively and effectively recognize and respond to the Broadcast Flag to protect digitally-broadcast content from illicit Internet redistribution. SmartRight creates a Personal Private Network for each consumer's home, keeping content in the hands of law-abiding consumers and thwarting would-be pirates. The system is extremely flexible and easily renewable. It can someday be used by consumers to access and enjoy legally-obtained digital content received in a home network - even from their authorized devices that are half a country away,"" said Jean-Charles Hourcade, Senior Vice President of Thomson's Technology group. ""Thomson's unique position as both a world-leading technology company and service provider to the motion picture studios enabled it, with its industry partners that are part of the SmartRight Association, to design a system that responds not only to consumers' demands for innovation and flexibility, but also to content owners' demands for security and renewability,"" Hourcade continued. ""The FCC's approval of SmartRight, and the motion picture industry's endorsement earlier this year, affirm that both of these goals have been successfully achieved.""For more information, please visit www.thomson.net.

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