Landmark study: DRM truly does make pirates out of us all

[mindcycle]

It's not about PC gaming specifically, but still applies and is pretty interesting.

It's a well-known story by now: Europe, the US, and plenty of other countries have made it generally illegal to circumvent DRM, even when users want to do something legal with the content. Sure, it sounds bad and Ars complains about it all the time, but come on?do anticircumvention laws really prevent real people in the real world from doing real things with their content? Or are the complaints largely dreamed up by copyleft activists who would like nothing more than to see the term "intellectual property" disappear into the tentacled maw of Cthulhu?

According to the first empirical study of its kind in the UK, by Cambridge law professor Patricia Akester, it's the former. DRM is so rage-inducing, even to ordinary, legal users of content, that it can even drive the blind to download illegal electronic Bibles.

Problems were not hard to find. When Akester spoke with the UK's Royal National Institute of Blind People, Head of Accessibility Richard Orme told her that those with sight problem have the right "to create accessible copies of works" by using screen reading software, for instance, but these rights can be blocked be restrictive e-book DRM.

As an example, take the case of Lynn Holdsworth, who bought an electronic copy of the Bible from Amazon. It refused to allow text-to-speech, which Holdsworth required. She contacted Amazon, which has a policy of not refunding e-books after a successful download.

"On Amazon?s advice, Lynn Holdsworth contacted the publisher, but the publisher referred her back to Amazon," writes Akester. "Neither Amazon nor the publisher were able to assist her and she ended up obtaining an illegal copy of the work (which her screen reader application could access)."

To DRM developers and rightsholders, though, these are just edge cases, not worth coding into DRM schemes. Creating DRM that has any sort of security while still accommodating every legal use in every possible market is simply infeasible?though this does lead rightsholders to question the wisdom of DRM.

Shira Perlmutter of global music trade group IFPI told Akester in an interview, "You are not going to get a one size fits all DRM that will deal both with the consumer and the special interests exceptions and, in any case, you do not want to give up a system that works for 99 percent of cases because there is a particular issue with a particular kind of user when you can let the system work and then deal with that user."

The study confirms what anyone who has ever wanted to rip a DVD to their computer or iPod could have told you: DRM, coupled with anticircumvention laws, makes pirates of us all.

Of course, as Bright points out, the massive lobbying, legislative, legal, and technical effort that underlies all these DRM regimes does so little to stop piracy that we'd be tempted to laugh at the folly of it all if we weren't already weeping.

Read the whole article here: http://arstechnica.com/tech-po...ates-out-of-us-all.ars

 

[Saga]

I find it interesting that a lot of the examples cited were pretty out there and probably very uncommon occurrences - such as the lady needing to have the book read to her. However, with that said I personally think DRM is essentially to American's what traffic lights are; rules that are to be enforced at somewhat of a convenience. You're not going to sit through a 30 minute red light at an intersection with a bad sensor at 3AM, you're just going to run it. Just like with traffic laws, the true purpose of DRM is only to punish those who are either stupid enough or unlucky enough to get caught in the act. Because that number will always remain a significant minority, the precedent of simply not obeying the rules will always be present to the majority.

 

[coloumb]

The main issues I have with DRM:

1. Needing a DVD in the drive to play the game. DVD's get scratched over time = will eventually fail. If I play a lot of different games, this is going to cause the dvd to fail at a faster rate. My PC is not a frikken console dammit. I shouldn't have to leave the DVD/CD in the drive to play the game since it's installed on the hard drive. No-DVD or No-CD executables solve this annoyance.
2. OS reinstalls - it's a royal pain in the ass to re-install 3rd party software. No-DVD or No-CD executables solve this annoyance.
3. I'm going on a business trip - I don't want to carry 10 DVD movies around with me. So I fire up a free dvd-ripper so I can watch them from the hard drive.

Etc etc etc... DRM does nothing but inconvenience the paying customer and is easily bypassed.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: coloumb
The main issues I have with DRM:

1. Needing a DVD in the drive to play the game. DVD's get scratched over time = will eventually fail. If I play a lot of different games, this is going to cause the dvd to fail at a faster rate. My PC is not a frikken console dammit. I shouldn't have to leave the DVD/CD in the drive to play the game since it's installed on the hard drive. No-DVD or No-CD executables solve this annoyance.
2. OS reinstalls - it's a royal pain in the ass to re-install 3rd party software. No-DVD or No-CD executables solve this annoyance.
3. I'm going on a business trip - I don't want to carry 10 DVD movies around with me. So I fire up a free dvd-ripper so I can watch them from the hard drive.

Etc etc etc... DRM does nothing but inconvenience the paying customer and is easily bypassed.

Werent you a DRM fan at one point?

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: coloumb
Etc etc etc... DRM does nothing but inconvenience the paying customer and is easily bypassed.

Exactly. And given the fact that DRM does so little to stop piracy it's a surprise publishers still waste money using it.

The solution is to offer more incentives to purchase products/games. Some have understood this, like Stardock, gog.com, Steam to an extent, etc..

 

[wanderer27]

Originally posted by: coloumb
The main issues I have with DRM:

1. Needing a DVD in the drive to play the game. DVD's get scratched over time = will eventually fail. If I play a lot of different games, this is going to cause the dvd to fail at a faster rate. My PC is not a frikken console dammit. I shouldn't have to leave the DVD/CD in the drive to play the game since it's installed on the hard drive. No-DVD or No-CD executables solve this annoyance.
2. OS reinstalls - it's a royal pain in the ass to re-install 3rd party software. No-DVD or No-CD executables solve this annoyance.
3. I'm going on a business trip - I don't want to carry 10 DVD movies around with me. So I fire up a free dvd-ripper so I can watch them from the hard drive.

Etc etc etc... DRM does nothing but inconvenience the paying customer and is easily bypassed.

#1 - I don't really mind as long as I'm able to make a Backup and play off the Backup.

#2 - If you're referring to activation limits I totally agree, but I don't like activation limits period.

#3 - Yeah, this is along the same lines as #1 to me.


Interesting Article, but they needed more examples, and probably some game related instances too.

The Library of Congress/Archives was a good case point.

 

[lupi]

ah, and I thought the AT DRM cheer brigade said that DRM is only a hindrance to the casual user that would do casual piracy. damn those facts pointing otherwise.

 

[wanderer27]

Originally posted by: lupi
ah, and I thought the AT DRM cheer brigade said that DRM is only a hindrance to the casual user that would do casual piracy. damn those facts pointing otherwise.

Yeah, damn those facts . . . .


Of course now we're going to get smothered in how these are all exception cases that were pointed out :roll:


This is somewhat along the lines too:

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8...tutional-abuse-of-law/

 

[mindcycle]

What works for 99% is all good and well as a BS answer to explain the need for DRM. But what they miss is that DRM does next to nothing to stop piracy, so we should focus more on that fact IMO.

It should read: DRM doesn't work for 99% of piracy cases.

Which greatly outweighs the "works fine for 99% of customers" argument, does it not?

 

[GoodRevrnd]

To DRM developers and rightsholders, though, these are just edge cases, not worth coding into DRM schemes. Creating DRM that has any sort of security while still accommodating every legal use in every possible market is simply infeasible?though this does lead rightsholders to question the wisdom of DRM.

Shira Perlmutter of global music trade group IFPI told Akester in an interview, "You are not going to get a one size fits all DRM that will deal both with the consumer and the special interests exceptions and, in any case, you do not want to give up a system that works for 99 percent of cases because there is a particular issue with a particular kind of user when you can let the system work and then deal with that user."

I find this laughable. I challenge anyone to show me ONE case where a company has bothered to "deal with that user" under their ham-fisted DRM schemes. If there was actually support to deal with the people that truly get screwed they might have a case, but it just doesn't happen. Instead we are left with a "well, most of the people in prison really committed a crime so it doesn't matter that their are a few innocent people in there as well" attitude.

 

[s44]

It's not a study, it's a collection of anecdotes.

 

[Golgatha]

I read the article earlier and my thought is the title doesn't make sense. DRM doesn't make pirates out of us all. Stealing IP makes one a pirate.

However, circumventing DRM does make us all (legally speaking) criminals. Circumventing DRM on media you own is considered fair use from a copyright standpoint, but because of the DMCA, circumventing DRM is now illegal in the USA. Therefore anyone who rips a DVD, Blu-ray, downloads a cracked game executable, or rips and recodes an iTunes CD from AAC to MP3 is a criminal. Not because of pirating IP (assuming all the aforementioned content was paid for), but because the DMCA makes the act of circumventing the DRM illegal.

Everything I mentioned is a perfect example of the true purpose of DRM in general. Not to prevent piracy, but to control how and when legitimate customers are able to utilize digital goods.

 

[Red Irish]

Originally posted by: Golgatha
I read the article earlier and my thought is the title doesn't make sense. DRM doesn't make pirates out of us all. Stealing IP makes one a pirate.

However, circumventing DRM does make us all (legally speaking) criminals. Circumventing DRM on media you own is considered fair use from a copyright standpoint, but because of the DMCA, circumventing DRM is now illegal in the USA. Therefore anyone who rips a DVD, Blu-ray, downloads a cracked game executable, or rips and recodes an iTunes CD from AAC to MP3 is a criminal. Not because of pirating IP (assuming all the aforementioned content was paid for), but because the DMCA makes the act of circumventing the DRM illegal.

Everything I mentioned is a perfect example of the true purpose of DRM in general. Not to prevent piracy, but to control how and when legitimate customers are able to utilize digital goods.

That just about sums it up: stupidity united with a desire to destroy the second-hand market.

 

[ZzZGuy]

Screw the legal argument, and screw the moral argument with DRM. Do Not Buy software if it contains DRM or some other restrictions you do not like, otherwise you have told them you are very happy with their current DRM. Sure you can send them a e-mail saying you bought it but are unhappy, but they still have your money.

And with many things in life, the "But I'm only a drop in the bucket so I shouldn't bother doing anything" mentality undermines this effort as people oh so often complain then drop their pants and bend over, paying money for it all the while.

As for piracy, there are many shades of gray ranging from pirating a game you just bought so you can actually play it because of hostile DRM to pirating a game with no DRM that you enjoy very much and have the money to buy but won't.

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: Golgatha
I read the article earlier and my thought is the title doesn't make sense. DRM doesn't make pirates out of us all. Stealing IP makes one a pirate.

However, circumventing DRM does make us all (legally speaking) criminals. Circumventing DRM on media you own is considered fair use from a copyright standpoint, but because of the DMCA, circumventing DRM is now illegal in the USA. Therefore anyone who rips a DVD, Blu-ray, downloads a cracked game executable, or rips and recodes an iTunes CD from AAC to MP3 is a criminal. Not because of pirating IP (assuming all the aforementioned content was paid for), but because the DMCA makes the act of circumventing the DRM illegal.

Everything I mentioned is a perfect example of the true purpose of DRM in general. Not to prevent piracy, but to control how and when legitimate customers are able to utilize digital goods.

It's funny how, by making circumventing DRM illegal, they've admitted DRM doesn't work.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: videogames101

Originally posted by: Golgatha
I read the article earlier and my thought is the title doesn't make sense. DRM doesn't make pirates out of us all. Stealing IP makes one a pirate.

However, circumventing DRM does make us all (legally speaking) criminals. Circumventing DRM on media you own is considered fair use from a copyright standpoint, but because of the DMCA, circumventing DRM is now illegal in the USA. Therefore anyone who rips a DVD, Blu-ray, downloads a cracked game executable, or rips and recodes an iTunes CD from AAC to MP3 is a criminal. Not because of pirating IP (assuming all the aforementioned content was paid for), but because the DMCA makes the act of circumventing the DRM illegal.

Everything I mentioned is a perfect example of the true purpose of DRM in general. Not to prevent piracy, but to control how and when legitimate customers are able to utilize digital goods.

It's funny how, by making circumventing DRM illegal, they've admitted DRM doesn't work.

What I find even funnier is the DMCA was signed into law in October 1998, and in October 1999, almost exactly one year later, DeCSS was released to the masses.

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: videogames101

Originally posted by: Golgatha
I read the article earlier and my thought is the title doesn't make sense. DRM doesn't make pirates out of us all. Stealing IP makes one a pirate.

However, circumventing DRM does make us all (legally speaking) criminals. Circumventing DRM on media you own is considered fair use from a copyright standpoint, but because of the DMCA, circumventing DRM is now illegal in the USA. Therefore anyone who rips a DVD, Blu-ray, downloads a cracked game executable, or rips and recodes an iTunes CD from AAC to MP3 is a criminal. Not because of pirating IP (assuming all the aforementioned content was paid for), but because the DMCA makes the act of circumventing the DRM illegal.

Everything I mentioned is a perfect example of the true purpose of DRM in general. Not to prevent piracy, but to control how and when legitimate customers are able to utilize digital goods.

It's funny how, by making circumventing DRM illegal, they've admitted DRM doesn't work.

Yeah, that's pretty much true. I don't understand why circumventing DRM needs to be illegal when you actually own the product. Especially if it's required to get it to work properly! The DMCA needs to be changed to allow lawful copyright circumvention in specific cases. Especially if the publisher is unwilling to help you.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: videogames101

Originally posted by: Golgatha
I read the article earlier and my thought is the title doesn't make sense. DRM doesn't make pirates out of us all. Stealing IP makes one a pirate.

However, circumventing DRM does make us all (legally speaking) criminals. Circumventing DRM on media you own is considered fair use from a copyright standpoint, but because of the DMCA, circumventing DRM is now illegal in the USA. Therefore anyone who rips a DVD, Blu-ray, downloads a cracked game executable, or rips and recodes an iTunes CD from AAC to MP3 is a criminal. Not because of pirating IP (assuming all the aforementioned content was paid for), but because the DMCA makes the act of circumventing the DRM illegal.

Everything I mentioned is a perfect example of the true purpose of DRM in general. Not to prevent piracy, but to control how and when legitimate customers are able to utilize digital goods.

It's funny how, by making circumventing DRM illegal, they've admitted DRM doesn't work.

Yeah, that's pretty much true. I don't understand why circumventing DRM needs to be illegal when you actually own the product. Especially if it's required to get it to work properly! The DMCA needs to be changed to allow lawful copyright circumvention in specific cases. Especially if the publisher is unwilling to help you.

I'd go one step further, the DMCA needs to be amended to allow for circumvention if you own the right to use the IP. If I buy a car, I can add any number of aftermarket gizmos and bling to my car. I don't expect the car's manufacturer to support these add-ons, but I am legally able to modify my purchase. I see no difference in modifying my car or ripping the CSS encryption from a DVD. In either case it's an unsupported modification, but I ought to have the legal right to do it.