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The information on Groklaw is not intended to constitute legal advice. While Mark is a lawyer and he has asked other lawyers and law students to contribute articles, all of these articles are offered to help educate, not to provide specific legal advice. They are not your lawyers.

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DRM Strikes Again - Windows servers | 128 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
DRM Strikes Again - How to screw your customers
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 19 2013 @ 05:37 AM EDT
So DRM *IS* all about stealing: to enable stealing from customers (rather than
to disable stealing from suppliers).

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

DRM Strikes Again - How to screw your customers
Authored by: DannyB on Tuesday, March 19 2013 @ 09:12 AM EDT
Microsoft takes down it's DRM servers so you don't have to.

First there were personal mp3 players.

Then there were DRM'd music formats, and DRM capable music players. But it was
a tower of babel.

Microsoft wanted to copy Apple yet again. "Me too!" they lamented.

Thus Plays For Sure was born. Microsoft convinced hardware makers to build the
hardware. Microsoft convinced rights holders to put music in Microsoft's store.
But Microsoft couldn't convince non Kool Aid drinkers to buy.

Microsoft realized that maybe the problem was that they had done it like the
accidental monopoly of MS-DOS and Windows, but should have done it like iTunes
instead.

So Microsoft killed off Plays For Sure and shut down the DRM servers. Please be
sure to move your music to the device that will be its final resting place,
because soon the DRM servers will shut down and you can no longer move music to
any different devices.

Then Microsoft introduced Zune. Unlike Plays For Sure, this time you won't get
screwed -- for sure! Microsoft controlled the hardware. Microsoft controlled
the store. But customers still stayed away in droves.

Amazon sells DRM-free mp3's that you can download and put on any device. Later
Google Music appears for Android.

Microsoft then abandoned Zune. Shut down the DRM servers.

Also, eBooks have disappeared before.

The moral of the story: you should just passively accept that DRM is superior
to unencumbered formats, buy whatever Microsoft tells you to buy, be happy with
it, and when they screw you yet again, just say it was in the name of progress.


---
The price of freedom is eternal litigation.

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

DRM Strikes Again - Windows servers
Authored by: artp on Tuesday, March 19 2013 @ 10:03 AM EDT
If they went down, how would you know?

---
Userfriendly on WGA server outage:
When you're chained to an oar you don't think you should go down when the galley
sinks ?

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

Err - do you realize what site you're visiting?
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, March 19 2013 @ 11:53 AM EDT

You ask:

When are we going to take down the Windows DRM servers, to make the point about single points of failure?
If you're suggesting an activity such as a DDOS - Sorry, but I'm not inclined to join in illegal activities.

However - that might not be what you're suggesting. Given Groklaw is pretty much a legal research site... perhaps you're suggesting someone initiate some form of Lawsuit against Microsoft in order to shut down the DRM services.

I suppose that's possible - for example if MS' DRM servers are being used for mass copyright infringement. But then... to bring a copyright infringement suit - you need to be a copyright owner of a work the defendant is infringing.

Do you - perchance - happen to be a music artist who knows for sure his works are hosted on MS' DRM servers and who also knows for sure MS doesn't have an appropriate license/contract for their activities?

Better yet - instead of me guessing, you could clarify what you had in mind.

    Just how would you go about taking down MS' DRM servers Legally?
And if you really did have illegal activities in mind - before you say anything else, consider the fact that a number of Lawyers are frequent visitors. It's also highly possible Judges visit Groklaw.

Under that circumstance, if you really want to continue to suggest something illegal - you might as well walk into a donut shop surrounded by cop cars and try to rob the place.

RAS

[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]

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