As noted earlier, the International Digital Media Alliance (nee the DVD Association) have been lobbying the AACS licensing authority to reduce fees to accommodate smaller companies. Now the H-Security site reports that AACSLA has reduced fees.
The Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator (AACS LA) has reduced the licence fees for its mandatory AACS copy protection for Blu-ray Discs. The new scale of charges is primarily intended to benefit small studios and pressing companies that have yet to release any Blu-ray versions of their films due to the high cost.
Licensees no longer need to make a one-off payment of $3,000 for a Provider Agreement. Instead they pay $500 annually and can terminate their contract with the AACS LA at any time. The licence fee for a glass master used for producing a film disc has also been reduced from $1,300 to $500.
