IP Democracy: Philips Technology Forces Viewers to Watch Ads

Courtesy of Groklaw, this New Scientist article about a patent that Dutch technology provider Philips has landed. It’s a broadcast flag that will stop viewers from changing channels during commercials or from fast-forwarding through commercials on recorded programs.

Philips’ patent acknowledges that this may be “greatly resented by viewers” who could initially think their equipment has gone wrong. So it suggests the new system could throw up a warning on screen when it is enforcing advert viewing. The patent also suggests that the system could offer viewers the chance to pay a fee interactively to go back to skipping adverts.

That’s the bad news. The good news for U.S. residents is that Philips’ system only works with MHP (Multimedia Home Platform), a standard only used in Europe (for now anyway).

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on April 19, 2006 8:42 AM to IP Democracy