How to Explain DRM to Your Dad

[Ferre]

Good article:

http://blog.wired.com/music/2007/02/..._explain_.html

And makes you think...

[ewomack]

Intellectual property: the new imperialism

[StupidScript]

I believe that DRM is being deployed prematurely, before existing copyright law has a chance to fully prove itself in this new environment. I believe DRM is also being deployed for the purpose of challenging and then redefining copyright law.

Someone with deep pockets, or maybe a class, will need to get a lawsuit going to stop the implementation of DRM before existing copyright law is completely gutted. A large problem with that is there are so many methods of DRM being tossed around that a ruling regarding one vendor will no doubt need to be relitigated for each of the others.

Talk about stimulating frivolous lawsuits ... DRM is going to be the poster child for them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a copyright holder, myself, and enjoy the benefits of its protection. But this is going too far in an attempt to protect, not the artist/author/composer but the publishing company's profits.

If a new, niche work could have minimal sales and widespread "underground" distribution, that would lay the groundwork for future, bigger sales on future works. With DRM all that gets distributed are paid copies (minimal), and that artist/author/composer will never get their career off the ground like so many have before them because word of mouth and 'mix tapes' would barely get a chance to develop before the sales curve drops ... just like their publishing contract would be.

[StupidScript]

Come to think of it, there is a certain kind of DRM that I would support:

Say every recording was mandated by global law to contain this certain type of DRM. Whenever a copy of the work was sold, or whenever it was played, data about the event would be sent to an AUTHOR-CONTROLLED aggregator, allowing them to see (1) exactly how many times it had been copied, (2) exactly how many times the work had been sold, (3) exactly how many times it had been given away and (4) exactly how much money was changing hands with regard to their work.

Finally, an artist/author/composer could challenge the bu****it accounting practices that have forever been a part of the entertainment industry!

In addition, the artist would be able to chart the spread of their material, and even open it up for free useage within a type of quota system, and even close that hole again, if they so desired. For example, if they were steadily building sales in France, they could open up the DRM so that the next 5,000 people got a free copy, then close it back to paid-only for awhile. Likewise, if it looked like it was dead in the water everywhere but, say, somewhere in Indonesia (sorry, Indonesians, no offense) that was generating hundreds of thousands of copies, that area could be 'quarantined' by locking down the DRM system to prevent any of those copies from being played until a resolution for the discrepancy could be found.

And the artist/author/composer would control it all.

I'll bet the publishing industry wouldn't like that type of DRM at all ...

[biguniversity1]

DRM is just the beginning, a stepping stone if you will...

[Rajabond]

A best kind of informative and easy to understand site..

Hope to share more the best of you had..

Thanks for this.