Industry heavyweights HP and Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV Tuesday announced they are joining forces to develop new copy protection technology for DVD optical discs.

The two companies have agreed to jointly develop technology that will allow users to record protected content from digital broadcast systems, under rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in its "broadcast flag" ruling.

The ruling allows programmers to attach a code, called a broadcast flag, to digital broadcasts, specifying whether - if at all - a particular show can be copied and broadcast over the Internet.

HP and Philips said they have already submitted their planned technology in a filing to the FCC.

The new technology will allow users to copy digital broadcasts signals on discs using either DVD+R or DVD+RW formats - among the most popular today - as well as other recording formats, the companies said.

In another DRM deal, HP also said on Tuesday that it has agreed to license Intel's high-bandwidth digital content protection technology. The technology prevents video content from being intercepted and recorded as it travels between devices, such as a PC or TV display screen, according to HP.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.