14 DAY TRIAL // No more intellectual property issues? Ritek thinks so, as it plans to include the latest RFID chips into DVD's and other storage media. The RFIDs are radio transmitter chips that would prevent copying and piracy. This technology also works with the new HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray discs and will allow movie studios or music companies, such as Time Warner, Disney and Fox, to remotely track down individual discs as these are transported from factories to retail shelves, reaching consumers in the end.
Embedded RFID chips will also be detected by future DVD players which should be able to refuse playback of illegally copied materials. Playback in the "wrong" geographical region should also be prohibited.
The RFID chips have yet to prove their efficiency as similar Flash EEPROM devices can be easily hacked. RFID might be the hardware equivalent of STARFORCE security system - the controversial Russian software included in some European media, which Microsoft started to test in order to adopt it for future releases.
Ritek, the world's largest DVD maker, will delegate its U-Tech subsidiary to produce the RFID discs. IPICO, the company that produces the RFID chips, will collaborate with U-Tech, and production of the discs will soon start at U-Tech's main plant in Taiwan.