DRM: A Skeptic's View Leigh Dodds Chief Technology Officer, Ingenta

What is DRM?

What is DRM? “ a collective name for technologies that prevent you from using a copyrighted digital work beyond the degree to which the copyright owner (or a publisher who may not actually hold a copyright) wishes to allow you to use it” -- Michael Godwin, Digital Rights Management: A Guide For Librarians

What is DRM? Any technology used to protect the interests of owners of content and services (such as copyright owners). Typically, authorized recipients or users must acquire a license in order to consume the protected material—files, music, movies—according to the rights or business rules set by the content owner. -- Microsoft Security Glossary

The Two Goals of DRM Enabling New Business Models Stopping Unlicensed Usage

Stopping Unlicensed Usage

Protecting Content: The DRM Spectrum Weak Strong “ Social DRM” Fingerprints Watermarks Encryption Usage Limits

Does Strong DRM Work? No DRM system is completely secure There are always loopholes E.g. the “analog loophole”, printed materials, etc DRM thwarts casual theft, not commercial piracy All strong DRM is eventually broken Cost of breaking only needs to be borne once ...put the publisher keeps on paying

No DRM system is completely secure

There are always loopholes

E.g. the “analog loophole”, printed materials, etc

DRM thwarts casual theft, not commercial piracy

All strong DRM is eventually broken

Cost of breaking only needs to be borne once

...put the publisher keeps on paying

Issues with Strong DRM User Support Preservation and Archiving Fair Use Expensive No Interoperability What exactly is being sealed and delivered?

User Support

Preservation and Archiving

Fair Use

Expensive

No Interoperability

What exactly is being sealed and delivered?

Is Theft Really a Problem? Can it even be a good thing?

The Secrets to Porn Success “ ...there are several things that are unique about Internet porn that make it significantly more resistant to piracy Watermarked Content Regular Updates Niche Content In short, if a site produces regularly updated, high-quality niche content that is easily recognized as it is passed around. File sharing and piracy might not become the major issues they once were.” -- What Porn Can Teach Us About “Piracy”, Plagiarism Today

“ ...there are several things that are unique about Internet porn that make it significantly more resistant to piracy

Watermarked Content

Regular Updates

Niche Content

In short, if a site produces regularly updated, high-quality niche content that is easily recognized as it is passed around. File sharing and piracy might not become the major issues they once were.”

-- What Porn Can Teach Us About “Piracy”, Plagiarism Today

Enabling New Business Models

Enabling New Business Models Abandoning DRM now will unnecessarily doom all consumers to a "one size fits all" situation that will increase costs for many of them. -- Fred Amoroso, CEO Macrovision

What new models does DRM enable? Right to use content on more than one device Right to share or re-distribute content Time-limited usage Usage limited (e.g. 10 times) Subscription model

Right to use content on more than one device

Right to share or re-distribute content

Time-limited usage

Usage limited (e.g. 10 times)

Subscription model

But wait, what about? Consortia deals? Content age dependent pricing? Content type dependent pricing? Bundling and re-packaging? Disciplinary differences? ...or indeed any knowledge of academic publishing business?

Consortia deals?

Content age dependent pricing?

Content type dependent pricing?

Bundling and re-packaging?

Disciplinary differences?

...or indeed any knowledge of academic publishing business?

Innovating without DRM

Innovating without DRM

The Real Challenges I would like nothing more than to have DRM technology just fade away. After all the main challenge we have in digital publishing is to get it adopted by mainstream consumers. And the main challenge 98% of book authors and publishers have is to get people to be aware of their books, not to prevent piracy. -- Bill McCoy - General Manager, ePublishing Business, Adobe

Conclusions Use weak or “social DRM” to discourage casual theft Experiment with business models … but you don't need DRM to do that

Use weak or “social DRM” to discourage casual theft

Experiment with business models

… but you don't need DRM to do that