Ears On

The Japanese government is asking broadcasters and DVR manufacturers to relax the "copy once" rule, according to Nihon Keizai Shimbun. It allows programming to be copied from DVR to DVD, but the program is then erased from the DVR, and the DVD cannot be copied. News and educational programs will be the first to allow relatively unfettered copying. Other kinds may take longer, depending on the preferences of copyright holders, and it's hard to imagine budging (say) the movie industry from its existing anti-copying vigilance. Why this, why now? The government is looking ahead to Japan's transition from analog to digital broadcasting, currently scheduled for 2011, and wants to salvage at least some of the viewer conveniences associated with analog. A panel of broadcasters, manufacturers, copyright holders, and consumers will begin studying the matter and the first copy-once exceptions may take effect before year-end.