Tutorial 2: Digital Rights Management

What is DRM?

Digital Rights Management aka Digital Restrictions Management (Free Software Foundation)

Source: http://digizmo.com/2010/04/15/samsung-to-adopt-microsofts-playready-drm/

DRM is commonly used by music artists, copyright holders and publishers to control how a file is used and shared. DRM removes usage control from the person in possession of the digital content and gives control to a computer program. The problem DRM is trying to solve is to restrict repeated distribution of digital content via file sharing networks.

By downloading an MP3 file of a copyrighted song instead of going out to the store and buying a CD, you are causing the artist and their music label to lose money. The movie industry loses approximately $5 billion a year because of illegal DVD distribution. Although it is legal to make a copy of a CD or DVD for yourself, it is not legal to pass along a song or movies to others for free.

DRM helps to prevent copying, limit playback to one device, set an expiration date and use a digital watermark. An expiration date is ideal for rentals, so that the content stops working after a certain time period. DVDs that expire after 24 hours have been sold in retail stores in the past.  A digital watermark stores invisible digital information inside an audio file which identifies who bought the original audio file.

There is a way for people to get past the DRM. By using the analog output of one computer and feeding it into the microphone input of a second computer, you can record a new digital file. In the new digital file, you can exclude limiting playback to one device, a digital watermark and an expiration date. Although there is a small loss in fidelity, it can circumvent the DRM.

Ramifications for the DRM include upsetting honest customers who can only play their files on one device and aren’t able to copy a music file to their I-pod. It is not a good idea to displease law-abiding citizens who are only using your file for their personal use and have no plans to illegally share with others.

Here is a video of a DRM protest that took place at a San Francisco Apple Store. The protesters give  reasons why the public is restricted by DRM to try to persaude the public to eliminate DRM.

Source:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YdnccYI2-w

Sources:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/drm1.htm

http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm

http://digizmo.com/2010/04/15/samsung-to-adopt-microsofts-playready-drm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YdnccYI2-w

ISM 3004 Class Lecture 06.02 – Audio