What's really wrong with DRM?

What's really wrong with DRM?

"What is wrong with that? Sounds like the perfecet situation."

You are certainly entitled to that opinion. But, if I may, I'd like to say again that private use of DRM can be a problem in some circumstances. And, after reflection, I think I need to cut some more slack for the authors of the report.

What could possibly be wrong with a system which leaves both parties to a deal free to accept or reject it? I, too, find the idea appealing. As a practical matter, though, your ability to opt out of any deal depends on the availability of an alternative or your willingness to do without.

"Private sector DRM systems [allow] us to refuse to use the DRM and tell the publishers to piss off."

Indeed, they do. And if you are confident that you will always be able to find a suitable (and legal) alternative, or get along without whatever the DRM was protecting, more power to you. But some people do feel that they have, if not a "God-given right to watch DVDs", a set of rights under law and equity to use their property in ways that DRM is often crafted to prevent. The DCC report, to its credit, acknowledges this fact. For example, on page 38, the following footnote:

"* On May 4, 2003, The New York Times reported that "[s]ome of the world's biggest record companies, facing rampant online piracy, are quietly financing the development and testing of software programs that would sabotage the computers and Internet connections of people that download pirated music. ... Industry spokespeople have said publicly that, just as the 'left' believes it has a right to hack overly protective DRM measures, the content industry believes it also has a right to use self-help."

The message we ought to take away from this is that copyright law is heavily politicized, and that we do ourselves no favors by pretending that we can just ignore what's happening in our statehouses and Congress (if we're in the US), and just boycott whatever we don't like. The rest of the world is affected differently, but we have seen some very Bad Ideas wash across the pond in both directions. Pay attention, write your representatives, and vote!

As to cutting the DCC authors more slack, I do note that they took a more balanced view than I acknowledged -- saying, for example, "In particular, the capacity of such systems to accommodate users' rights traditionally allowed under intellectual property law needs to be further explored so that the appropriate copyright balance can be maintained."

They were more clueful than I let on, and deserve credit for it.