Why an open standard for DRM won't prevent the DRM trainwreck

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Obviously

I thought the point of this article was obvious to everybody (which just shows that I still overestimate the intelligence of "everybody".)

To protect something, you must limit who has a key, and make certain there are no methods of avoiding the lock. If everybody has the key, such as any open standard that allows open software to unlock the content, then there is no protection. If there is a method of avoiding the lock, such as putting a camera in front of a television and a microphone in front of a speaker, then any protection is limited to honest people. Locks on cars and houses can offer perfect protection as long as the doors, windows, and walls are unbreakable (and we know how much excitement the word "unbreakable" creates in the software world.)

There is no good DRM technology. There can never be DRM technology that protects anything from being transformed into an open format by someone who has the key. All DRM does is violate the fair use rights (and annoy) honest people.

There was another article on ZDNet about watermarking. To be done correctly, removal of the watermark would destroy the content. The watermark must survive transformation from digital to analog format. Then watermarking provides accountability, and content providers can focus their legal efforts. But even watermarking is bypassed by starting with an unmarked copy, or one with a watermark that is not stored. Buy the DVD with cash, then make as many copies as you want because your identity is unknown.

There is no perfect solution. Eventually all content will be free, because protecting it is impossible. That is not making the content providers happy, and they will torture their customers with many attempts at the impossible before they surrender.

Posted by: solprovider   Posted on: 12/12/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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