Digital Rights Management - A Definition

Digital Rights Management - A Definition

Digital Rights Management - A Definition

Digital Rights Management (DRM) can be defined as a technological approach to the protection of copyrighted material, such as music. It protects copyrighted music from unauthorised dissemination and duplication through the encryption. The encrypted digital audio disk supports playback but does not support transference to a second medium. Developed and implemented in an effort to stem the rising tide of copyright violations and the resultant financial losses suffered by the industry, DRM was first employed by Bertelsmann in 2002 and soon thereafter by leading music producers such as Sony and EMI (Thompson). The controversy which its use aroused eventually compelled music producers to cease the inclusion of DRM technology on its audio discs, with EMI being the last company to do so in 2007 (Thompson). DRM faded out of use because it violated existent copyright laws and did not produce the expected results.

While DRM is designed to protect copyright material it does so in a way which violates existent fair use policies. As Sarah Houghton-Jan writes, "DRM makes it illegal for the owner of that CD to use that content on more than one device (which you should be legally allowed to do)" (53). When a person purchases an audio disc which has DRM technology embedded on it, the person is consenting to DTM terms. These terms include, in some cases, the inability to play the CD audio content on more than one machine and, quite possibly, the inability to play it on any of the machines which the user owns (Houghton-Jan, 53-54). In reference to the last, this is because not all machines have the required decryption codec installed. The implication here is that DRM technology violates the owner's right to play the audio CD on any machine s/he chooses and restricts the types of machines on which s/he can play the CD. Hence, restrictions on use extend beyond the illegal duplication and dissemination of the copyrighted music and, indeed violate the CD owner's rights.

Apart from its violation of fair use policy, DRM had the effect, not of halting illegal copying of copyrighted music but, of negatively impacting music sales. As the music industry's leading producers, EMI, Sony and others have realised "DRM doesn't work and actually negatively impacts sales" (Rapoza, 47). It is an extremely costly approach to the prevention of copyright violations and, more importantly, it does not fulfil its promise to prevent unauthorised copying and dissemination. This is because encryption codes have proven vulnerable to hacks. Added to that, potential music buyers are averse to purchasing audio CDs which impose unreasonable limitations on use and, indeed, violate fair use policies (Rapoza, 47). It is because of these reasons that DRM is being phased out of use.

DRM violates fair use policies, is costly, has not fulfilled its purpose and has negatively impacted sales. While its development and introduction were motivated by very reasonable motivations, the Digital Rights Management technology has proven that it is not the solution to the problem of the ever increasing illegal use of copyrighted material. A solution must be found and, quite possibly, with some adjustments, DRM may prove to be the solution. At the present time, and in its current format, however, it is not.

Works Cited

Houghton-Jan, Sarah. "Imagine No Restrictions." School Library Journal. 53(207), 52-54.

Rapoza, Jim. "DRM Is Dead Now, Right?" eWeek. 24(2007), 47. 4.

Thompson, Nathan. "A Brief History of DRM Technology." Grooves Shark. 6 August 2007. 23 March 2008. http://www.grooveshark.com/blog/2007/06/08/history-of-drm-music

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