Quote:
Originally Posted by deltop
I long ago stopped believing drm was all about protecting the rights of the author and stopping piracy. It's actually all about control and is there to protect access to markets and to protect outdated business models. After all it doesn't stop piracy does it? Companies aren't actually THAT stupid as to believe that copy protection schemes will last very long. They know full well that they'll be cracked, and often sooner rather than later.
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Exactly, that’s precisely my point. The people who pirate media have initiated an arms race of sorts, and every time they crack a new type of encryption, the industry responds by ratcheting up security. DRM exists as a direct result of piracy - just as security systems exist to prevent or deter theft.
Take game developers for instance, prior to the internet and rampant piracy, the security on most games simply required one to input a long encryption key prior to installing the game, or required that the disk remain in the drive. Over time, hackers and pirates found ways around this, the result, developers had to ratchet up security further still. Small developers were literally run out of business because they were not profiting from their investments.
Don’t blame the industry for DRM, blame those who attempt to circumvent it. Does it suck? Yes – but unfortunately, those who feel as though they are entitled to free software are to blame, while honest folks have to suffer the consequences.
DRM may not stop piracy, but it does deter some folks who might otherwise download illegally.