Byline: Cynthia L. Webb

Hollywood is quickly becoming the latest battleground in the digital piracy wars, and studio chiefs probably feel they have the right to shout "I told you so!" on news that two screener versions of recently released films are being traded online.

Back in the fall, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) tried to get ahead of the curve on piracy by halting the distribution of "screeners" -- advance copies of movies sent out to critics and voters for various movie awards. But in the face of loud objections voiced by the independent film community -- not to mention an unfavorable ruling from a federal judge -- the MPAA backed down and began shipping Oscar screeners in December.

But all that might change now that copies of " The Last Samurai " and " Something's Gotta Give " have wound up online, prompting a big investigation to trace the source. The Los Angeles Times reported today that the "downloadable version of 'Something's Gotta Give' that turned up on the Internet last week carried markings identifying it as coming from a video sent to an Oscar voter, Carmine Caridi , according to a person familiar with the academy probe." In an article yesterday, the newspaper said the movie's appearance online "marked the first time a so-called screener sent to an Oscar voter had been made available for illegal copying."

Today's L.A. Times says Caridi, who played Det. Vince Gotelli on the television series "NYPD Blue" and had a role in "Godfather II," refused to comment yesterday. He has hired an attorney, and his agent, Malcolm Cassell , told the newspaper that his client was "vague and not forthcoming" about how an Oscar screener sent to Caridi ended up on the Internet.

As for the investigation to track the origins of movies that end up on the Internet, Mark Ishikawa , chief executive of digital security firm BayTSP , told the L.A. Times "it was technically possible to track at which point in the production process an unauthorized copy of a movie probably had been made." An article in London's The Guardian explained that "Oscar screeners now come encrypted with codes which allow them to be traced to each individual recipient." * The Los Angeles Times: Screener Ends Up On the Internet (Registration required, Jan. 13 article) * The Los Angeles Times: Second Oscar Screener Finds Its Way Onto Internet (Registration required, today's article) * The Guardian: Screener on Web Sparks Investigation

And in case it wasn't obvious enough why the film industry is in an uproar over piracy, a Reuters article on the screener controversy offered this reminder: "Studios believe such piracy could lead to falling revenue similar to that music companies have suffered from free downloading of digital songs." * Reuters: Oscar 'Screener' Found On Internet, Academy Says

Pirated Peep Shows

While hardly Oscar-worthy material, pirated versions of adult films are also ending up online, cutting into the profits of X-rated film makers. Pornographic film company Titan Media complained to Congress, claiming the operators of the Kazaa file-trading service "have not blocked users of the network from downloading its films, even though they have the technology to do so," Reuters reported. According to Titan Media, "Kazaa's owner, Sharman Networks , can closely monitor activity on the network through 'spyware' installed on users' computers and could use that capability to block its users from downloading copyrighted files. But Titan said in a letter to Congress that Sharman has not cooperated with a request to stop unauthorized copying of Titan's adult videos over its network Titan's letter, released late Monday, is the latest blow to Sharman as it battles charges that it facilitates widespread copyright abuse and the spread of child pornography over its Kazaa network. Millions use Kazaa to copy music, movies and other computer files from each others' hard drives, without paying royalties for copyrighted material."

Titan wants Sharman Networks to block 1,400 of its movies from being traded on Kazaa, the article said. A Kazaa spokesman declined to comment. But a different version of the Reuters article noted that Sharman Networks "has long maintained that it cannot control content on Kazaa because users connect directly with each other, not through company-owned computers. Kazaa does contain a filter to allow users to avoid offensive content." * Reuters via washingtonpost.com: Critics Say Kazaa Can Block Downloads, But Won't * Reuters via USA Today: Kazaa Could Filter Copyrighted Music, Critics Say

Online Music Glut?

Everyone from Microsoft to Wal-Mart is throwing a hat into the pay-for-play online music arena. But the field is becoming so crowded that the chances for making a profit are dwindling -- lest we forget too that there are still a bevy of free services out there for those willing to pay Russian roulette with the copyright police of the entertainment industry.

Today's New York Times provides an overview of the e-music landscape. Excerpt: "People watching the online music industry say two things about that digital marketplace: business is booming, and the business stinks. Dozens of companies have opened online music stores, drawn by the promise of riches if even a fraction of the tens of millions of people illegally downloading songs turn to legitimate services. But profits in selling songs are slim at best, and the industry is already too crowded." Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff offered this quote: "There about three times as many music stores as there need to be." Get ready for the shakeout... * The New York Times: Power Players: Big Names Are Jumping Into The Crowded Online Music Field (Registration required)

Downloading a Lion's Share...

Universities have been a hot bed of illegal file trading, both because of access to broadband service and the trendiness of the practice among students. Pennsylvania State University is trying to stop digital piracy on its campus by launching a campus version of the newly revamped Napster service for its students as a legal alternative. The service "generated about 100,000 downloads or streaming-audio requests Monday, three days after its debut, school officials said," according to an Associated Press piece. "As spring semester classes got under way Monday at Penn State, more than 2,600 students had registered for the Napster 2.0 service, which comes free with their tuition. All 17,000 on-campus resident students are eligible to use it." Penn State said in a statement that the service "is the first one of its kind anywhere." * The Associated Press via CNN.com: Penn State Launches Napster Music Service

In the RIAA's Footsteps

The British Phonographic Industry , the U.K.'s equivalent to the Recording Industry Association of America , is threatening lawsuits against people who trade songs on the Internet illegally, citing the "disturbing increase" in digital piracy, BBC News reported today. "The music industry will defend its rights under the law whether it is against traders selling illegally copied CDs on market stalls, or people uploading illegally over the internet," a spokesman told the BBC. * BBC News: UK Song Swappers Could Be Sued

A Bad Patch?

Microsoft 's latest effort to fix glitches in some of its software is being blasted by security experts who say the fixes fail to address a major flaw in the Internet Explorer browser. The flaw in question makes "it easier for online criminals to dupe people into disclosing their credit card numbers, passwords and other private data. Security experts were hoping that the patches, which were released [Tuesday], would address the problem, but a Microsoft official said that the company is still devising a fix," washingtonpost.com reported yesterday. "The flaw lets criminals control the information displayed in the address bar of Explorer's browser window. It was most recently used to trick people into visiting a forged version of the Citibank Web site," the article said. "I could teach any grade school kid how to do it," said Ken Dunham , malicious code manager for Reston, Va.-based security company iDefense .

While the IE flaw remains unaddressed, Microsoft released three new patches yesterday for other flaws. And to help bolster the security of its products, Microsoft plans later this year to release an updated pack of security features for its Windows XP operating system, washingtonpost.com noted in its weekly Tech Policy and Security e-letter . * washingtonpost.com: Microsoft Patches Fail To Fix Dangerous Security Flaw * CNET's News.com: Microsoft Puts Out Three Patches