[debate] Let's discuss DRM

[Imri Goldberg]

Hi

It seems to me there are some good points to be made on both sides of the
DRM debate.
As a starting point, you may want to pursue "A DRM Dissertation" (
http://www.debiantutorials.org/a-drm-dissertation-off-topic-230) by Cory
Doctorow from 2004, that recently I found on proggit (
www.reddit.com/r/programming ).
The main (relevant) points there are:

1. DRM systems don't work.

2. DRM systems are bad for society, mostly by making criminals out of
generally honest people:

" in Norway the studios put the local fuzz up to bringing him up on charges
of *unlawfully trespassing upon a computer system.* When his defense asked,
"Which computer has Jon trespassed upon?" the answer was: "His own."

His no-fooling, real and physical property has been expropriated by the
weird, notional, metaphorical intellectual property on his DVD: DRM only
works if your record player becomes the property of whomever's records
you're playing."
3. DRM systems are bad for business, mostly because they prevent the growth
of new markets, and creating law-backed monopolies
"There's a company that's manufacturing the world's first HDD-based DVD
jukebox, a thing that holds 30 movies, and they're charging *$30,000* for
this thing. We're talking about a $300 hard drive and a $300 PC -- all that
other cost is the cost of anticompetition."

4. DRM systems are bad for artists, mostly by holding back new ways of
making art: "To abandon invention now robs tomorrow's artists of the new
businesses and new reach and new audiences that the Internet and the PC can
give them."

I hope I'm doing his article justice. I tried to present Cory Doctorow's
points as I understood them.
There was also a short discussion of this article on proggit at
http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/8ll9d/a_drm_dissertation_cory_doctorow_speaking_to/

It is easy to counter some of his points, and there have obviously been many
developments since 2004. Anyone interesting in discussing this?

Cheers,
Imri

-- 
Imri Goldberg
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www.algorithm.co.il/blogs/
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