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So simple to bypass, I expect they didn't spend much effort or money at all. They aren't trying to make an unbreakable system, they're trying to make a deterren

So simple to bypass, I expect they didn't spend much effort or money at all. They aren't trying to make an unbreakable system, they're trying to make a deterrent. If they had made the detection method too complicated, it could lead to false rejections and that would ultimately be more costly. They just needed a method that they can prove in court that a third party is using to defeat their DRM. This is the equivalent to ROT-13 encryption.

adamswann 12y ago
I agree, but I don't know that it's even necessary for Keurig to go to court to realize the value of the DRM scheme. Their weak DRM certainly serves as a deterrent to the average consumer, but even more so to the mainstream coffee distributors that have been selling "knock off" cups up to this point. Community Coffee, which is a major roaster/distributor in the deep south, just caved and penned a licensing agreement with Keurig: http://theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/10981551-123/community-coffee-keurig-announce-licensing http://theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/10981551-123/community-... Prior to the (negative) publicity surrounding the 2.0 launch, I didn't pay enough attention to notice that the Community Coffee K-cups I've bought (exclusively and in bulk at Sam's Club) for the three or four years that I've owned the machine weren't bonafide Keurig cups, but I think a typical consumer (and retailers, too) would likely be put off if the pods came with instructions for cutting the lid off an authentic Keurig cup and taping them onto the machine. I'm betting every region has their version of Community Coffee and that Keurig will succeed in converting many of them into licensees. There might be negative publicity that is seen by those of us who care about such things, but on average, Keurig will come out ahead -- maybe without filing a lawsuit.
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  It might be a turn off to ship your coffee with instructions on how to cut the top off a 2.0 K-cup. But if your K-cups just needed an "adapter"[1] then many consumers would probably not think twice about it. We use adapters all the time to make one thing work with another. [1] https://www.gourmet-coffee.com/Keurig-DRM-Freedom-Clip.html https://www.gourmet-coffee.com/Keurig-DRM-Freedom-Clip.html
  - shutupalready 12y ago
    Wouldn't it be deliciously funny if the adapter was engineered such that all third-party k-cups worked, but Keurig's own k-cups ceased working. It should be possible; I thought of ways using electronics or a prism, but nothing simple yet.

adamswann 12y ago

I agree, but I don't know that it's even necessary for Keurig to go to court to realize the value of the DRM scheme. Their weak DRM certainly serves as a deterrent to the average consumer, but even more so to the mainstream coffee distributors that have been selling "knock off" cups up to this point. Community Coffee, which is a major roaster/distributor in the deep south, just caved and penned a licensing agreement with Keurig: http://theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/10981551-123/community-coffee-keurig-announce-licensing http://theadvocate.com/news/acadiana/10981551-123/community-... Prior to the (negative) publicity surrounding the 2.0 launch, I didn't pay enough attention to notice that the Community Coffee K-cups I've bought (exclusively and in bulk at Sam's Club) for the three or four years that I've owned the machine weren't bonafide Keurig cups, but I think a typical consumer (and retailers, too) would likely be put off if the pods came with instructions for cutting the lid off an authentic Keurig cup and taping them onto the machine. I'm betting every region has their version of Community Coffee and that Keurig will succeed in converting many of them into licensees. There might be negative publicity that is seen by those of us who care about such things, but on average, Keurig will come out ahead -- maybe without filing a lawsuit.

jack-r-abbit 12y ago
It might be a turn off to ship your coffee with instructions on how to cut the top off a 2.0 K-cup. But if your K-cups just needed an "adapter"[1] then many consumers would probably not think twice about it. We use adapters all the time to make one thing work with another. [1] https://www.gourmet-coffee.com/Keurig-DRM-Freedom-Clip.html https://www.gourmet-coffee.com/Keurig-DRM-Freedom-Clip.html
- shutupalready 12y ago
  Wouldn't it be deliciously funny if the adapter was engineered such that all third-party k-cups worked, but Keurig's own k-cups ceased working. It should be possible; I thought of ways using electronics or a prism, but nothing simple yet.