Widely covered in the press, Intel has announced a major initiative to market PCs for the home entertainment market under its own new brand, ViiV. This PCMag article focuses on an interview with Don Whiteside, Intel's vice president of technology and policy standards. Whiteside presents a balanced view of various rights-related issues. Snippets:
Whiteside was critical of levies on the sale of playback devices such as DVD players, digital content, and blank CD and DVD media. Some countries use levies as a means of compensating copyright holders. Whiteside believes that levies raise the cost of products for all consumers regardless of how individuals are using the products.
"If you buy a CD in Canada, 65 percent of the retail price is a levy."
Rights owners don't like levies because they don't fairly distribute proceeds to the copyright holders, Whiteside said.
"Business models are being disrupted," he said.
Under copy licensing systems, consumers pay only for what they use, and content creators are paid for what the consumer buys, without the tax-collecting body getting in between.
