3 ms·
To clarify, this isn’t just a cynical comment. It’s actually why digital content producers use DRM. Generally speaking, they’re not idiots, they know it will ha
by baddox 7y ago
To clarify, this isn’t just a cynical comment. It’s actually why digital content producers use DRM. Generally speaking, they’re not idiots, they know it will have little effect on determined pirates and will cause some hassle for some legitimate customers. The point really is so that the digital content producers can maintain control over the providers of computer hardware and distribution channels.
Here’s an old article claiming to be a big revelation, but it’s pretty much common sense and has been fairly well recognized for much longer than that:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-engineer-drm-has-nothing-to-do-with-piracy/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-engineer-drm-has-nothin...
- narrator 7y agoSo the purpose of DRM is to thwart the first sale doctrine?
- c256 7y agoIt is absolutely one prime motivation. “The purpose” is essentially non-verifiable.
- catalogia 7y agoReading that article, it seems to me that the arguments don't fit the conclusions. Media companies may be strong-arming software and device manufacturers, but they're doing so as a means to an end, not an end unto itself. Their motive for strong arming software and hardware manufacturers is their desire to control consumer behavior. That may be slightly more general than "piracy" specifically, but not that different.
- baddox 7y agoSure, of course they ideally want end to end control. The point, though, is that the argument “pirates will still be able to pirate and legitimate users will be inconvenienced,” while true, is not a great argument for why content producers should stop using DRM, because DRM still works quite well for establishing control over hardware and distribution providers.
- sideeffffect 7y agoIan Hickson's insightful short essay about DRM was on Google+. But now it's gone... Not entirely, actually, thanks to the Internet Archive!!! https://web.archive.org/web/20190119000840/https://plus.google.com/+IanHickson/posts/iPmatxBYuj2 https://web.archive.org/web/20190119000840/https://plus.goog...