SF Gate has a long piece on entertainment industry's increasingly proactive efforts at Reining in tech:
When the original Napster program became an instant consumer hit five years ago, it blindsided the music business.Today, the entire entertainment industry -- hoping to avoid being caught off guard again -- has stepped up efforts to nip potential problems with emerging technologies in the bud, before the public gets its hands on them.
For example, Hollywood movies studios and the National Football League recently teamed up to try to block a proposal from digital video recorder company TiVo Inc. to let subscribers view recorded TV programs over the Internet. The move surprised officials of the Silicon Valley firm, who weren't even ready to introduce that feature to the public.
Technology companies and public advocacy groups criticize these moves, saying the entertainment business is trying to stifle innovation to increase its own profits.... But entertainment industry officials say they are just trying to strike a fair balance between allowing innovation and stopping piracy.
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