If you consume digital media, chances are you have encountered DRM in the past. Join Ian R Buck, Ryan Rampersad, and Brian Mitchell as they discuss why it exists, the many forms it can take, and the problems it introduces.
UPDATE 2019-02-07: In October 2018, the Library of Congress added an exemption to DRM law making it legal for people to break DRM in order to maintain or repair the hardware that they own. Listen to the section about hardware for more information.
Episode Summary
00:00:00 | Update
00:00:25 | Intro
00:01:01 | Definition of DRM
Digital Rights ManagementRestrict usage of proprietary copyrighted works00:01:44 | Goals of DRM
Prevent piracyKeep users in one company’s ecosystemProtect corporate documents from unauthorized accessRegion locking
The weird economics behind Steam prices around the world | PC Gamer
00:09:32 | DRM in Games and Software
Product keysRequiring the disc to be inserted at runtimeTying game to an online accountBuilding the game to download later sections from a server as the player progressesIntroducing errors or insurmountable challenges that activate if a copy detects it is illegitimate00:15:02 | DRM in Ebooks
Encrypt file using customer’s username and passwordForce users to log in through Adobe before they can read the file00:16:22 | DRM in Video
DVDs are encrypted, but the technology developed in 1996 has been cracked for a long timeBlu-rays are more difficultWatermarksStreaming00:21:07 | DRM in Music
CDs can be easily rippedCD-ROMs with DRM (don’t conform to the CD standard) were used for a while, but the industry moved away from themNowadays music purchased digitally comes in standard formats, no DRMPreviously iTunes, Napster, Sony, Wal-Mart, etc sold music with DRMStreaming
Apple ‘On Schedule’ to Terminate Music Downloads by 2019
00:25:05 | DRM in Photos
WatermarksReleasing low resolution versions of photos00:26:43 | DRM in Hardware
Proprietary designs that lock out competitors (Keurig refills, Phillips Hue bridge, lightning chargers)John Deere and car manufacturers arguing that owners of vehicles cannot copy or modify the code that runs them, even for repairIn Groundbreaking Decision, Feds Say Hacking DRM to Fix Your Electronics Is Legal – Motherboard00:31:11 | Laws and Licensing
DMCA, USAOutlaws the use or dissemination of technology for circumventing DRMReverse-engineering of DRM systems is permitted (circumvention necessary to make it interoperable with other software)Exception allowed for research, but it is vague and so is not reassuring to researchers; several high-profile cases of researchers declining to publish their findings out of fear of being prosecuted under DMCAEU Copyright DirectiveSimilar to DMCA, but only applies to offenses with commercial purposesThe resale of copyrighted software is permittedThe GNU General Public License has a provision that states anyone can break DRM on GPL software without breaking the lawCreative Commons prohibits the use of DRM in their Baseline Rights00:36:18 | Problems with DRM
Stifle innovation and competitionIncreases barriers to people making fair use worksArtificially locks people into ecosystemsPrevents the consumer from creating backups/accessing the work on their termsWorks can become permanently inaccessible if DRM scheme changes or the company goes out of businessPirates find ways around DRM, so the people being harmed are legitimate customersFor passive media at the very least, there is always the analog holeMotion picture industry wanted to create legislation to close the analog hole by requiring recording devices to detect when they are recording copyrighted materialCan increase piracy rates if legitimate customers are driven awayMakes it extremely difficult for libraries to lend out digital contentRequiring an online account means there is no recourse for privacy-minded consumersThe contents of a user’s library can be changed without their prior knowledgeAccelerates hardware obsolescenceEven when a work is available cross-platform, DRM often leaves out open platformsDVDs on LinuxEncrypted Media Extensions in browsers
An open letter to the W3C Director, CEO, team and membership | Electronic Frontier Foundation
01:00:11 | Outro
Related episodes
The Extra Dimension #9: Encryption › The NexusThe Extra Dimension #20: Copyright Law › The NexusThe Extra Dimension #29: The Access Economy and the End of Ownership › The NexusAttributions
Kevin MacLeod [Official] – Inspired – incompetech.com – YouTubeCopyright
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