For Immedi= ate Release:

Entertainment Merchants Association Calls for DRM Compatibility

Endorses NARM Statement that Says Compatibility Will

Satisfy Consumer Expectations and Discourage Piracy

ENCINO, CA (November 7, 20= 06) … The Board of Directors of the Entertainment Merchants Association (= EMA) yesterday urged the adoption of interoperable digital rights management (DR= M) systems, stating that DRM compatibility would satisfy consumer expectations= and encourage consumers to buy and rent more digital media rather than download pirated, DRM-free files. As part of its call for DRM compatibility, EMA endorsed a statement on DRM compatibility issued by the National Associatio= n of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) on July 27 and joined the Coral Consortium, a cross-industry group to promote interoperability between DRM technologies u= sed in the consumer media market.

“EMA has long supported use of DRM to strengthen legitimate copyright protection, but has opposed the use of DRM to control, restrict or eliminate lawful non-infringing choices that consumers and retailers currently enjoy,” noted EMA President Bo Andersen. “We believe that, as in the music space, incompatibility and the resulting cons= umer confusion and frustration will be a deterrent to the growth of legal video digital commerce. While today the market for digital delivery of video is relatively small, now is the right time to address this important issue.= 221;

Digital righ= ts management (DRM) is the umbrella term referring to any of several tools use= d to enforce pre-defined models and policies controlling access to digital softw= are, music, movies, and video games. An important type of DRM, known as technical protection measures, are technologies that control or limit the access and = use of digital content when played on hardware compatible with or limited by the protection technology.

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The digital = delivery of video (movies, TV shows, etc.) is in its embryonic phase, spurred by the recent launch of Amazon's Unbox and th= e iTunes Movie Store. Like digital music, DRM in digital video is included to control copying and distribution, but also similar to music, compatibility is an issue. Movies downloaded from Unbox or CinemaNow, for example, will play on Windows= PC, and will play in portable media players certified as "Plays For Sure&q= uot; by Microsoft (such as players manufactured by Creative, Samsung, and Archos) as well as on Sony’s PSP – but th= ey won't play on the Video iPod. And, likewise, video downloaded fr= om the iTunes Movie Store will only play on an iPod and not on the PSP or "Plays for Sure" players.

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The text of = the NARM statement endorsed by EMA is attached.

The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) was established in April 2006 through the merger of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA). EMA is the not-for-profit international trade association dedicated= to advancing the interests of the $32 billion home entertainment industry. EMA represents more than 1,000 companies throughout the United States, Canada, and other nations. Its members operate more than 20,000 retail outlets in t= he U.S. th= at sell and/or rent DVDs and computer and console video games. Membership comprises= the full spectrum of retailers (from single-store specialists to multi-line mass merchants), distributors, the home video divisions of major and independent motion picture studios, and other related businesses that constitute and support the home entertainment industry.&n= bsp;

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For more in= formation, please contact:

Sean Bersel= l, Vice President, Public Affairs

Entertainme= nt Merchants Association (EMA)

818-385-150= 0 Ext. 226 or sbersell at entmerch.org