Future Of DRM Uncertain, Experts Agree
In an ideal U.S. copyright system, content creators would have control of the materials they create, rather than having to hand over the reins to "big commercial companies," which impose strict technological protections, digital libraries expert Karen Coyle said Wednesday.
Digital rights management "has been a market failure" due to consumers' dislike of "tightly controlled materials," she told a copyright summit at the University of Maryland University College. The only true success story, Apple's iTunes store, has thrived because people "love their iPods so much they'll go through anything to get songs onto it," she said.
Technological protections are not all bad, Coyle said. University libraries license material and limit access to their communities, she said. Shields are also needed "if we want to keep our private thoughts private" on PCs that are connected to public networks. "We live with certain amounts of protection that we're comfortable with," she said.
Center for Democracy and Technology Staff Counsel David Sohn said he favors pushing DRM in "a more flexible direction." "Our hope is that the public becomes sufficiently knowledgeable in the DRM debate and is able to apply pressure in the marketplace," he said.
EMI Music Group's recent news that it would make available DRM-free tracks on iTunes and Amazon.com generated a lot of buzz, but it is unclear whether other major labels will follow suit. "It remains to be seen to what extent the movement extends beyond music," Sohn added.
Read Technology Daily's PM edition for more coverage of the conference.
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