Ben Holcomb - DRM

Introduction

This paper presents the findings of a research on DRM (digital rights management) and its effect on users and pirates of digital media. It gives a definition of DRM and lists the various kinds of DRM present in each type of media. It gives alternatives and evaluates their effectiveness as a alternative and lists their positives and negatives. It closes by giving the best type of protection for each media and explains why it is the best solution for media creators and consumers.



Ben Holcomb
Professor Michael Parsons
College Writing II
9 December 2010

Digital Rights Management

DRM is a controversial form of copyright protection that is present in nearly every type of digital media in existence. DRM stands for digital rights management and is a way to allow users to play their media files through certain authorized means while preventing unauthorized use and copying. It was created primarily as a way to combat piracy, since digital media by its very nature can be copied and distributed infinitely. Supporters of DRM argue that it is necessary to prevent revenue loss due to piracy. Opponents, however, claim that it prevents the consumer from “fair-use”, such as making backup copies and selling. Opponents refer to DRM as “digital restrictions management,” as seen in Figure 1 (Brendan McGuigan).

The most common (and controversial) type of DRM is the type present in digital music. At one time audio CDs also had DRM present in them, but since 2007 it has become all but nonexistent. This is because the DRM was easily circumventable, which meant that the results were not worth the cost (Sander Marechal). In reality, the only effective way to implement DRM in a CD is to encrypt the disc and create special CD players that can decrypt and play it. This would be costly and require users to purchase all new CD players. Because CDs have been around for a long time, this change would restrict and cost the user without offering him any new benefits. It is therefore unlikely that any type of DRM will ever be imposed on audio CDs again, although it is very possible that an entirely new, more advanced form of media could arise that offers enough benefits (increased audio quality, more content) to entice buyers.

Unlike audio CDs it is relatively common to see DRM in digital music files. The DRM in audio files are usually a type of built-in authorization that allows users to play the files on their computer and on portable media players, such as iPods. The files can only be played on authorized players, however, which contain keys necessary to decrypt the files (“Features of Windows Media DRM”). This often means that only portable music players manufactured by the same company that sold the music can play the files. This creates an inconvenience for users who wish to use different players or who switch from one brand to another. Often times the user will be unable to play those formats and will be forced to either lose his music or decrypt it using illegal software (Michael Kordahi).

Another problem with audio DRM is that it does not allow the user fair-use rights over the music he owns. It is considered legal in the United States (as well as in most countries) to create and use a personal backup copy of legally owned media. If a person owns a CD, he has the right to make and play backup copies of that CD, provided he does so for himself and not for others. He may also takes the songs off of that CD and play them in a personal media player. He also has the right to sell that CD and transfer all of those rights to another party. Two of those fair-uses are impossible with DRM. While a user can create a copy of the music file, he cannot change the file into another format because that would require cracking the encryption, which is illegal (Rita Lewis). He can use what is called the “analog hole” to copy the music, which involves recording the sound that is played when he plays the file using legal means, but that reduces the audio quality (Liza Daly). He also has no ability to sell or transfer the rights to the music, which is completely different from all other forms of traditional media.

DRM in music files is not all bad, however, as it does give rise to some very interesting and useful licenses for users. For instance, Microsoft sells what is called a “Zune Pass” which allows consumers download as much music as they desire from Microsoft’s website for a monthly fee of $14.99. They can effectively listen to anything they want and can download new songs as often as they desire. They are, in reality, only purchasing a license to use the music freely for that month, and the music will become unplayable once they leave the program. They are also given the ability to keep a certain amount of songs at the every of every month permanently (Jason Chen). This type of program is only possible with DRM because Microsoft would have no way of stopping users from listening to the music if they used a traditional audio format. Users would be able to join the program for a month, download all the songs they wanted, and then leave the program, gaining an entire music library for only $14.99. This would obviously be very bad for business and cause the recording industry even more harm.

Opponents of DRM in audio files offer several possible alternatives. One is to completely remove DRM and use free formats such as MP3s for music. This would allow purchasers to completely own the music files and effectively do anything they wish to it. The problem is that it would make piracy easier and allow people to make copies to give to friends. While anti-DRM groups such as Tech Mediums claim that removing DRM allows for more widespread use and therefore makes artists more popular and increases revenue in other areas, this has not been supported by any real studies and is pure conjecture (“DRM Opposition”).

Another possible solution is called digital watermarking. Digital watermarking is the processing of encoding licensing data into the audio file itself. Ideally this could be used to put the personal information of the buyer in the file so that pirates could be tracked down and prosecuted or sued. It still allows consumers the ability to convert and play the file in any player, but it also discourages piracy. There are two downsides to this: the audio quality may be decreased and theft victims could be blamed for piracy. To make the watermark powerful it is difficult to embed it into the audio without making it audible to human ears. This problem may be solved as time goes on, however (David Berlind). The other problem is very real and has no obvious solution. If a person’s computer was hacked into and his audio files stolen and put up on the internet, he may be blamed for it since the files contain his personal information. A similar alternative is to implant the user’s information in the file itself, separate from the audio, as metadata. Metadata is extra information for a file that is not required for playback. Metadata is much easier to remove than a watermark, but it is also much easier to embed and has even been implemented (Kelly Fiveash).

Some more common forms of DRM are present in various types of digital video. DVDs and Blu-Rays both contain forms of DRM. DVDs are encrypted and all DVD players have decryption keys which allow them to decode the disc (Peter Brown). While this does allow users to sell their used DVDs, it makes it impossible to make backups without cracking the encryption, which is illegal (Rita Lewis). Users can legally make backups using the “analog hole,” but doing so will reduce the quality just like with digital audio (Liza Daly). To correct this problem (and increase revenue) sellers now regularly include digital copies with DVDs which allow users to create a digital copy that can be played on their computer and portable media player. The problem with this is that they require the user to connect to the internet to do so and only allow it to be done once (“Frequently Asked Questions”). The video file also has its own DRM, which will be discussed later. To increase sales movie companies will often sell the user additional digital downloads or, in some cases, not include a free download at all (Jon Healey).

There is no effective solution to the DVD encryption since DVDs have been a long-established format and changing them would require all new players. One alternative to the backup problem, however, is to include digital copies that still require internet authorization but that allow for a realistic number of backups instead of only one. The DRM aspect of the video file itself will be discussed later.

Another type of video DRM is present in Blu-Rays. Blu-Rays have several unique forms of DRM such as HDCP, AACS, and BD+. HDCP prevents high-definition copying by ensuring that the output of a digital connection is authorized. AACS allows Blu-Ray companies to track down individual devices that were used to pirate discs and make it so that future manufactured discs will not be playable in that device. BD+ is a system that prevents Blu-Rays from being played on unauthorized or modified devices (“In-Depth”). All of these types of DRM make it more difficult for copies to made of Blu-Ray content. While this does reduce piracy, it also makes it so that users cannot make backup copies without illegally breaking encryption (Rita Lewis). Blu-Rays do offer digital copies which fix some of the problems, but they have the same problems associated with them as do DVDs. Like DVDs, changing the DRM would be difficult since Blu-Rays have become more commonplace, although it is more feasible than DVDs since Blu-Rays players are designed to be connected to the internet. Still, no reasonable alternatives to the DRM in Blu-Rays have been put forth.

The final type of video DRM is found in digital video files, often purchased from an online store or downloaded as part of a digital copy included with a DVD or Blu-Ray. Digital video DRM is almost identical to audio DRM. It only allows usage on authorized players and devices, and cannot be converted (excepting the “analog hole”) without illegally breaking the encryption (Liza Daly ; Rita Lewis). The alternatives to video DRM are all virtually identical to the alternatives to audio DRM. The first is to eliminate DRM completely, which has the same positives and negatives associated with it as audio DRM. The second is digital watermarking, which is performed in a slightly different way than the way it is in audio files. Digital watermarking in video actually embeds the purchaser’s information in the video and can be done in such a way that it is not detectable by the naked eye. When done properly it is very difficult to remove, like with audio, but it is less intrusive and can be done with current technology. Like with audio, it prevents piracy by making the file traceable (David Berlind). The final alternative is metadata, and is identical to the way metadata is used in audio (Kelly Fiveash).

A type of media that has more recently grown in popularity that includes DRM is the e-book. There are many varieties of DRM in e-books, but most have one thing in common: all can only be read by specific devices and software. One format cannot be converted to another, which means that a user who switches from one brand to another may be unable to read their old books on their new device. This is not as serious a problem as in music as some devices can read multiple DRM formats, but it is still completely possible for a user to be unable to read their old books if they switch devices (“Digital Rights Management”). DRM also exists in documents such as PDFs, but because PDFs are usually used in a business environment they are done more for security than to prevent piracy.

E-books have the same advantages to DRM that audio and video do. It prevents unauthorized backups and reduces piracy. Unfortunately, it also has the same negatives, plus a few more. Unlike audio and video, text does not lose quality from one form to another. The most that can be lost is formatting, and sometimes even that can be preserved. This means that pirates can use different means such as copying and pasting or printing to make illegal copies. To counteract this, some DRM e-books do not allow copying of text or printing. This further limits the user’s usage of the e-book. Another problem is that e-book companies have too much power over the users. On one notable occasion, Amazon deleted copies of George Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984 from their customers’ e-readers. In doing so they also deleted any notes that the users had written about the books which, in one case, caused a student to lose the work he was doing for school. In commenting about this, the boy said: “they didn’t just take a book back, they stole my work. (Brad Stone)”

There are only two alternatives to DRM in e-books: complete removal of protection and metadata. Like in video and music, removal of all protection does nothing to combat piracy and allows normal people to make and share copies. Metadata is also about as effective as it is in music and video, being circumventable but still stopping piracy from the average user.

The final, most broad form of media that contains DRM is the video game. Video game DRM can be either something implemented on the disc to prevent copying or something in the software itself for validation. Many games, primarily those on the PC, contain both. Most console video games contain a form of anti-copy protection on the disc itself. Oftentimes it is something extra that individuals would not be able to put on the disc without special equipment. This is very effective as it forces pirates to either modify their console, which can be costly and dangerous, or emulate the console, which is difficult and outside the scope of this discussion. In the past, there was no way to create a backup copy of a game that could be played on the console without modification. On modern consoles, however, some systems have hard drives that can backup the game. The only restriction is that the disc be in the drive to prevent users from borrowing or renting games and then permanently saving them on their hard drives (Daniel Nations).

While modern console video game DRM is effective and unrestrictive to the user, PC video game DRM is not. Because PCs can have completely different types of equipment and operating systems, copy protection on discs is hard to implement effectively. There are two main types of copy protection on discs: TAGES and SecuROM. TAGES is designed to simply make it more difficult for pirates to make copies of the information on the disc. By doing so it also prevents users from making legitimate backup copies (“What is TAGES?”). SecuROM is much more intrusive. SecuROM installs software on the user’s computer without notifying him. The software intrudes whenever the user tries to make a copy of the disc. Not only does it prevent the user from making legitimate backups, it also installs software without his permission. The software also does not uninstall itself when the game is removed (K. Minger). The only real alternative to copy protection DRM in PC games is to remove it altogether. While this would allow for illegal copies of the disc itself, most games include software DRM which make actual piracy more difficult.

The other type of DRM in video games is software DRM. Software DRM is almost exclusively found in PC games and can come in several varieties. One very common type is to connect to the internet to validate the install using a serial number included with the game. Depending on the game, the number of activations may be limited. In these instances, it is sometimes possible for a user to “regain” his activation by uninstalling the game (Talkjack). This type of DRM discourages users from making illegal copies while still allowing for legal backups. Unfortunately, it also can also prevent resale if the manufacturer limits the number of activations. It can also make the user lose his activation if he must reinstall his operating system due to system failure. It also forces the user to be connected to the internet, although manufacturers usually allow phone activations to circumvent this problem. One final problem is that if the manufacturer goes out of business or their servers go down, users will be unable to install the game. SecuROM can also be used to implement this activation, but doing so only adds the negative of having extra software installed on the user’s computer.

Another type of software DRM that is particularly restrictive is one that requires the user to be online at all times to play the game. This is done in a new type of DRM by Ubisoft called Uplay. It works by downloading only a small portion of the game at a time as the user progresses through the game. The main problem with this is that only users that have internet access can play the game. If the internet goes down, the user will also be kicked out of the game (Ryan B.). In one instance, hackers attacked Uplay’s servers and users were unable to play the game for about seven hours, as shown in Figure 2 (Graham Cluley). While it does have many negatives associated with it, it does allow games to be resold. Unfortunately it also means that if the servers are ever taken down permanently or if Ubisoft goes out of business, users will be unable to play the game.

For downloaded games, meta-data is a very real alternative (although it does not seem to have been implemented yet for games). For disc-based games, however, meta-data is impossible since burned data is effectively static. Removing DRM completely is also not a realistic solution in this case. Games that use offline serial numbers have no real way to combat piracy, and illegal downloading of video games is a very real occurrence.

There is no universal method of effectively preventing or discouraging piracy. Each type of media requires a different solution that meets that protects the creator without punishing the user. For audio files, metadata is likely the best method to prevent piracy and still allow customers fair-use. DRM is too restrictive and controversial, and presents very legitimate concerns about transferring music from one device to another. And while watermarking would offer all of the benefits of metadata plus increased anti-piracy protection, it is also costly and is not currently possible to do effectively without more research (David Berlind). Also, since audio sales involve millions of small transactions instead of fewer larger ones and since it is realistically impossible to prevent all piracy, it is a waste of resources to develop protection that is more difficult to crack. Metadata discourages the average user from piracy for a very small amount of resources and therefore is the wisest solution. iTunes has already implemented metadata in their songs and eliminated DRM, and other companies would be wise to follow suit (Kelly Fiveash).

For video files, both watermarking and metadata are good ways to enforce copyright protection without restricting users. Since it is reasonably impossible to prevent all piracy, and since only one successful pirated copy must be made to spread around the world, watermarking and metadata can be used to allow users to make backup copies and still discourage piracy. Digital copies included with DVDs and Blu-Rays allow for legitimate backups, and if watermarking or metadata were used instead of DRM then film companies would have no reason to limit the number of copies a user could make (other than to save bandwidth). This would solve all of the problems and allow users to make legitimate backups, convert the files, and sell their used discs. In this case watermarking is likely a better solution than metadata because it can be done with relative ease with current technology and is still relatively difficult to remove (David Berlind).

For e-books, metadata is without a doubt the best method to combating piracy. Metadata allows the user to make his own personal backup copies and read the files on any device or program. It discourages piracy without restricting the user too much. It is also very easy to implement and in some cases, such as the Microsoft Reader, it is already being used (“Support for PC”).

For video games copy protection is perfectly acceptable and effective in modern console games. Most consoles have a backup feature that prevents piracy but allows for legal backups. For PC games, however, it is redundant and restricts the user. By having software DRM instead the user can make backup copies of the disc and piracy can still be prevented. The only problem with software DRM is that it always requires some sort of internet connection, which means that bankrupt companies’ games would become impossible to install. There is no real solution to that problem that also prevents the casual user from making illegal copies. It is possible, however, for the developer to release a patch after a few years that allows users to install the game without accessing a server. The patch would eventually be distributed all over the internet and allow users to install the game even after the company ceases to exist. The only flaw is that the user would have no way of being notified about the patch unless the developer placed a time-sensitive message in the installer for the game in advance. This is quite a lengthy solution that requires much foresight, however, and it is unlikely to ever be implemented. The best realistic solution is software DRM that verifies an installation and does not limit the number of installations, except when the game is being installed from different locations within a short space of time. This would allow users fair-use on all their computers while still fighting piracy.

It is very difficult to find a balance between security and fair-use. There is nothing wrong with trying to combat piracy and ensure that creators and artists are paid for the work they have done. It is also understandable, however, that consumers would desire to use the media they have legally purchased without unfair time limits, restrictive policies, and intervention by the manufacturer. It is clear that DRM is very unpopular among users and presents many problems. Hopefully in the future more media distributors will turn to solutions like the ones discussed and find the balance necessary to protect their product and please their customers.

Figure 1 (“Welcome to DRM.info”)

Figure 2 (Graham Cluley)

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