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Originally Posted by darryl
The answer to the question as to whether the source code will be made available is "Yes. With some caveats". I take this to mean that at least some of the source code relating to the DRM will not in fact be made available.
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That's not how I read it. FAQ goes on to explain what the caveats are, namely:
a) The licensing is such that you can see the code but to use it you need to obtain a license from the Readium foundation.
b) The keys - which are really data and not code - will not be made public.
(source: Readium FAQ)
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Personally, whilst I understand the reasons why such a project may like to offer DRM, I find the whole concept of "open source drm" to be an abomination. Is there really such a thing? Can it truly be called open source if not all of the source code is made available?
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Well as I say I think all the source will be available. But it's also important to point out that "open source" is a software development methodology not a statement of principle about acceptable ways to (attempt to) enforce copyright.
I think as long as there are libraries lending ebooks some form of DRM is needed. Making it inter-operable across different devices/apps takes some/most of the sting out of that. And making an open source DRM standard makes that more likely.
As long as it gains the necessary traction. As with all standards that's a chicken and egg problem and often something proprietary comes along and becomes the de facto standard.
Ho hum.