When DRM is used to enforce proprietary incompatible formats then yes, it's evil; even worse, it's stupid and short-sighted. I expect the Tower of Babel referred to by JSWolf to eventually disappear. Naturally I'm rooting for epub, but another format may win out (VHS vs. Betamax is an obvious example of how inferior solutions may win out).
I wonder though if the use of DRM to protect revenues will eventually just fizzle out as the ebook-buying population changes from enthusiastic early adopters to "ordinary" consumers who just want to buy, read and sometimes share. Yes, I know the darknet is there, it just isn't part of my life. (Is this what is happening in the digital music market?)
There are other less obvious reasons to dislike DRM - I'm having an entertaining correspondence with Pan Macmillan regarding their title "Rising '44" which has completely mangles the display of accented characters. Without DRM I could have gone in there and fixed it straight off. At least it provides a platform to tell them that DRM is unhelpful.
