SDMI, the music industry's so-called "Secure" Digital Music Initiative, is an effort to provide authentication of original digital material via "watermarks", to provide copy control and prevent the "unauthorized" reproduction of copyrighted material (even copying which would be legal under the "fair-use" clause of copyright law). Unfortunately for the music industry (and fortunately for most everyone else), SDMI has (so far) been an abject failure. Researchers have been able to "break" the watermarks.
The problem: The Recording Industry Association of America has threatened the researchers and their institutions with a lawsuit if they publish their results! For fear of becoming involved in a protracted legal battle, they decided not to publish or present their results. To me, this represents an unacceptable limitation of academic freedom in the name of corporate profits. However, there are copies of their paper already floating around, as well as the RIAA threat letter and some relevant info. This information I have placed here. Please copy this information and spread it far and wide!
Dave Morgan Naval Research Lab Washington, DC