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Originally Posted by rlauzon
I'd argue that there's only one side of DRM: the content owner's. DRM gives the owner the power to seize rights that they don't have under law. The consumer has no rights.
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Actually, the consumer has the ultimate right: The right to refuse to buy. If more consumers refuse to buy e-books, e-music, whatever, because of DRM, the corporations will figure it out. The fact that many consumers just roll over and buy anyway (iTunes, for example), slows up the process of evolving or abolishing DRM for a better business model.
The e-business model desperately needs to change... it cannot continue to operate like brick-and-mortar businesses. DRM is the business' attempt to maintain the status quo, because they don't want to try a new business model and shake things up. They will likely be forced into it by new companies that are willing to experiment, and embrace the new business model... that's usually the way it happens in business. The new guys kick off a business war, and the winner becomes the new King of the Hill.
Unfortunately, we've got to wait until the war happens, and the smoke clears, to see how it all comes out.