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Making personal copies of things you've paid for--as backup, for example, or to use in multiple devices like your computer, MP3 player, and stereo--may soon be a thing of the past, or at least severely curtailed.

Supported by laws such as 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act (or DMCA), companies are preparing to incorporate copy-prevention technology into everything from audio CDs and online music to premium cable television and streamed video. Some of these plans are already in effect, with different levels of restrictions on the media playback.

"Digital technology makes it possible to monitor, record, and restrict what people look at, listen to, read, and hear," writes author and law professor Jessica Litman in her recent book, Digital Copyright. "Why, in the United States, would one want to do such a thing? To get paid."

In pursuit of that payment, companies are trying a variety of different models--it's all a work in progress.

And the latest copy-protection plans are the most controversial to date--especially those intended for the music industry. The battle between consumers and entertainment companies continues on Capitol Hill, where two important bills are in the works.

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