Mark Cuban says to Macrovision, "Give Customers a Break"

[Bob Russell]

Mark Cuban is probably best known for owning the Dallas Mavericks and being a co-founder of Broadcast.com. But he is also co-founder of HDNet, an all HDTV network.

One might think that as a content owner, he would be another proponent of the strictest DRM protection possible. But, instead, he speaks as a welcome powerful voice for keeping the movie and recording industries in line with respect to DRM and copyright law.

In his most recent blog entry, What Am I Missing Macrovision?, he takes a fresh look at the lawsuit that Macrovision filed against Sima and Interburn’s DVD Copying Products. (Those programs probably have functionality that is not a whole lot different than DVD Decrypter, an excellent program for personal DVD archiving and aid for mobile device content viewing, which has been "killed" by legal threats.)

Basically Mark points out that all the publicity is just showing everyone that Macrovision protection is worthless, and that the mainstream pirates already have the ability to break the encryption and mass produce pirated copies. So what are they accomplishing other than making life miserable for the average paying consumer. Mark has a lot of $$'s "at risk" in content that could be pirated, but he hasn't lost his common sense just because he has a stake in the issue. He argues that Macrovision should give the customer a break.

As a customer who has spent an enormous sum on content, I heartily agree. And Mark, we will not de-value your content with mass piracy. We appreciate your apporach. Keep making your point with a voice of reason, and may your unique philosophy lead to even more profits!

(via BlogMaverick)