Digital rights management
Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to a variety of technologies and protocols designed to control how digital media, technology, and software are used, primarily to protect the copyrights of creators. These measures can restrict usage to a single user or prevent the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials. While DRM aims to safeguard the rights of artists and media companies, it has sparked controversy due to its potential to limit the rights of consumers who have legally purchased products. For example, certain DRM technologies may prevent users from copying files or playing media on different devices, leading to criticism from advocacy groups concerned about consumer freedom.
Historically, the rise of digital piracy has prompted copyright holders to adopt more robust DRM solutions, including encryption and online authentication methods. However, incidents like Sony BMG's problematic use of rootkits in CDs have highlighted the risks associated with aggressive DRM practices, affecting both security and user experience. Beyond copyright protection, DRM can also serve applications such as paywalls for online content or security measures in sensitive environments. Critics argue that these systems can stifle innovation and competition, and in some regions, circumventing DRM is legally punishable, raising questions about the balance between protecting creators and preserving consumer rights.
Digital rights management
Digital rights management (or DRM) is the term used to describe any number of technologies or protocols that are intended to limit how digital media, technology, and software are utilized. It may also be known as digital restriction management or copyright protection. These restrictions are primarily intended to protect the copyrights of digital materials. Such technologies are often meant to limit usage of a product to a single user or to prevent copyrighted materials from being illegally distributed. However, these technologies may have a number of other applications as well and may affect how legitimate consumers use their own products.
As a result, some varieties of DRM technology are considered controversial. While no one disputes the rights of artists, programmers, and media companies to earn profits from their efforts or to safeguard their copyrights, limiting the usage of people who have legally purchased or downloaded products is considered unfair by such advocacy groups as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). However, as the ease of pirating materials has grown, copyright holders have sought to find more vigorous and proactive methods to protect their products, with DRM technologies often being the result. Some common forms of DRM technology include encryption, restrictive end-user license agreements (EULA), online authentications, product keys, and anti-tampering software.
Background
Since the progression of media from analog to digital recording, piracy has become an increasing concern of copyright holders. Previously, it was both difficult and expensive to make copies of materials such as records, books, or movies. Most people lacked either the resources or technological expertise to make copies. With the advent of new technologies such as blank tapes, people were increasingly able to copy songs off the radio or record television shows. However, these duplicates were typically of obviously reduced quality. Technology continued to advance with the development of compact disc (CD) burners, which allowed people to obtain a digital file from albums for their personal or shared use. Soon, peer-to-peer (P2P) and file-sharing networks enabled the average user to quickly download entire copies of movies, television shows, books, and records without paying anything to the creators of such materials.
The music, movie, and television industries united to push for laws to make it more difficult to download materials without paying for their use. While these laws had some impact, piracy remained an easy and hard-to-track crime. In response, these industries turned to technology. In 2005, record company Sony BMG released a series of music CDs that, without the consumers' knowledge, inserted software containing early forms of DRM technologies called Extended Copy Protection (XCP) and MediaMax CD-3. These programs were essentially forms of software called rootkits, which are designed to access areas of computers that are not intended to be opened by unauthorized programs. These DRM programs would alter the operating system of the user's computer to make it more difficult to copy music illegally from CDs. However, the software proved to be both technically problematic and a public relations disaster. The software made computers more vulnerable to malware. It was also designed to be very difficult to find and remove. In addition, it kept tabs on consumers' listening habits and installed the software regardless of whether the consumer agreed to it in the licensing agreements that were supposed to serve as protection for the consumer. After a series of lawsuits and government investigations, Sony BMG was forced to remove this technology from its production of CDs.
Despite this setback, the right to use DRM technologies has been upheld in the United States as a legal means of protecting copyrights. In particular, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) was enacted to criminalize any deliberate attempt to violate the copyright of a digital product. While this legislation served to protect copyrights, it also reduced the liability of online service providers from being held responsible for the actions of people who use their services to illegally download copyrighted works. However, the primary intention of this act was to prevent people from trying to circumvent any form of DRM technology that protects copyright holders.
Overview
DRM technology has a number of different applications and purposes. While the intent is usually to safeguard copyrights, the implementation of such programs often has the practical effect of deliberately limiting the ability of consumers to use materials that they have legally purchased or controlling how they use them. For instance, one type of DRM technology prevents viewers from skipping the advertisements that are often loaded onto the beginning of DVDs (digital video discs) and digital downloads. Another form of DRM prevents the owners of MP3s from playing their music on the media devices of rival companies. Similarly, DRM technology may also limit the number of copies that a user can make of individual MP3s or DVDs.
However, some forms of DRM have applications outside copyright protection. Paywalls are one form of this type of DRM. Paywalls may be used as a form of digital ticket that allows consumers to access live streaming videos. In these cases, the video is hidden behind a paywall using DRM technology. Once consumers have paid their fees, they are given full access to live sporting events, concerts, or other streamed events. Newspapers also use paywalls to restrict certain types of content to paid subscribers.
DRM also has applications as a form of digital security. DRM can restrict the number of users who have access to sensitive materials in the workplace. Such forms of DRM have important applications in high-security governmental agencies or in private businesses at risk for corporate espionage. Servers equipped with specialized DRM technology can also ensure that sensitive emails cannot be forwarded.
There are also other applications that serve only to protect the initial creator of materials. For instance, electronic books (or ebooks) may have protections inserted into them to prevent any alteration of their materials. Such defenses ensure that censors are unable to change text against the author's wishes. Similarly, programmers often use DRM technology for freeware, which is proprietary software that is intended to be distributed free of charge. DRM protections ensure that such programs remain in their original form and will not be altered or reverse-engineered without the knowledge or consent of its creator.
Nonetheless, many critics of DRM suggest that such technology controls user choice and stifles both technological innovation and competition. In addition, they argue that DRM technology has the ability to undermine local industry and artists in countries with very strong copyright protection laws. In some countries, attempts to circumvent DRM technology are even prosecutable as a criminal act.
Bibliography
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Layton, Julia. "How Digital Rights Management Works." HowStuffWorks.com, 3 Jan. 2006, computer.howstuffworks.com/drm.htm. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.
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