Presented at Ohio Library Council’s Digital Declassified workshop.
What is Digital Rights Management?
- From Wikipedia
- any of several technologies used by publishers (or copyright owners)
- control access to and usage of digital data (such as software, music, movies) and hardware
- handling usage restrictions associated with a specific instance of a digital work
- Focus on artistic works or content
- e.g. ebooks, music, video
How Does DRM Control Content?
- Requires a key or activation
- Encryption (e.g. DVDs with CSS)
- Self-destruct mechanisms (time limits)
- Disables features
- Forces features or content
- Restricts how hardware is used
- Ties content to hardware or software
Why DRM Use is Increasing
- The move from analog to digital content
- Analog copies lose quality
- Digital copies are perfect
- Digital copies are easy/fast to make
- Analog players are still popular
- Physical media formats are dying
- People getting content online, on demand
- Downloadable content from iTunes, etc.
- Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks
- Makes sharing content (too?) easy
- Difficult to shut down
Why DRM is not the Perfect Solution
- The analog hole
- Digital → analog (strips DRM) → digital
- DRM proponents trying to plug it
- DeCSS - 1999, FairUse4WM - 2006, myFairTunes - 2006, BackupHDDVD - 2007
- BOBE: Break Once, Break Everywhere
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act (199
- Illegal to circumvent DRM
- Illegal to describe circumvention
- Makes even personal/backup copies illegal
Who are Proponents of DRM?
- Recording Industry Association of America
- Sony BMG
- Apple (FairPlay / iTunes / iPod)
- Microsoft (WMA / PlaysForSure / Zune)
- Motion Picture Association of America
- DVD, time shifting, broadcast flag, sharing
- Game console industry
- Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo
Who are Opponents of DRM?
- Electronic Frontier Foundation - movie
- The Open Source Community
- Boycott RIAA
- I Hate DRM
- Against TCPA - movie
- Non-DRM music sites like eMusic
The Good
- Gives content creators some control
- Distribution and replication
- Lets creators and publishers feel safe
- More likely to make digital content available
- Higher-quality content
- Helps preserve the ability to generate revenue
- May promote new ways of distributing content
- Download 1 song vs. entire album
- Download movies on demand
The Bad
- Requires DRM enabled hardware or software
- No backward compatibility
- Potential device lock-in
- Difficult to use
- Terms of use may be modified at any time
- Potential accessibility issues
- Anti-competitive issues
- Loop hole in DMCA
- Printer ink, garage door openers
The Bad - Copyright Issues
- EULA: End User License Agreement
- DRM or EULA can trump copyright
- Limits or prevents fair use
- Limits or prevents first-sale rights
- Resale of copyrighted works
- DRM stays when works enter public domain
- DRM is often controlled by the publisher
- Not the copyright holder
The Ugly
- 2000: Adobe Systems - Alice in Wonderland
- Restrictions included no Read Aloud
- 2003: Intuit’s flawed product activation
- 2004: Apple iTunes reduces 10 CD burns to 7
- 2005: Sony BMG XCP rootkit on 50 CD titles
- 2006: MS Windows Genuine Advantage
- Added restrictions released as critical update
- 200?: Electronic voting?
- Whistle blowers violate DMCA
DRM Issues for Libraries
- Electronic journals can have DRM
- Downloading or copying is not borrowing
- Backups or archiving may be impossible
- Donations to libraries may be impossible
- Watermarking may not be feasible
- ALA’s DRM: A Guide for Librarians
- Appoint a DRM librarian to stay updated
- Explain and simplify the process
Recent Trends
- Some are experimenting with DRM-free music
- EMI’s non-DRM sales have been brisk
- Apple expects half of iTunes catalog to be DRM-free by end of 2007
- Amazon is joining the game
- People are willing to pay more for DRM-free
- Watermarking becoming an alternative
- New ebook appliances → new DRM
- Windows Vista → new DRM
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