| Software DRM is ineffective to protect any technology, regardless of the
intended purpose. Why? Because there are three parts to DRM. The media being
protected (1), the algorithm doing the protection (2), and the key applied
through the algorithm (3). In every case the media owner must supply all three
pieces to the potential user or the media can not be used. That is the problem.
If the user has all three pieces in their possession then how do you prevent
them from putting them together in a manner that you did not anticipate? How do
you keep the algorithm secret so that others won't exploit it? Using another key
and algorithm? Sorry, you would have to supply that set too!
The bottom
line for DRM is that it will always be ineffective against an intelligent
adversary. If you give the user even the slightest reason to be annoyed by the
DRM in terms of 'ease of use' or 'right to use' then some disgruntled user is
going to break the DRM and make that un-DRM'ed version available to all. Now
everybody has access anyway and all those millions you spent on developing that
DRM could have just been realized as a lower price on the market and pulled in a
lot more money by volume. Instead they pay the snake-oil-salesman millions for a
fantasy which can never be realized.
DRM - As a "solution" it 'solves' the
wrong problem, as a "technology" it is 'logically' infeasible. No amount of
snake-oil is ever going to change that.
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The Investors IP Law: The
future health of a Corporation is measured as the inverse of the number of IP
lawsuits they are currently litigating. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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