Digital+Rights+Management

=What is Digital Rights Management (DRM)?=

toc Digital rights management software is a licensing tool that sets and enforces rules governing the use of digital content. DRM refers to the wide range of systems and services that are used for the ‘description, identification, trading, protection, monitoring and tracking of all forms of digital copyright material” (Digital Rights Management and Privacy). It is also a process involving the safekeeping and copyright protection of electronic books. It is also a process that ensures an author’s copyright of an original work from the time the author submits a work to the publisher through the e-book distributor, then to the e-tailer. The primary goal is to assure that only readers who pay for the author’s work receive the benefit of the author’s published material.

=DRM Technology=

DRM technology allows digital content to be distributed securely on CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, peer-to-peer networks and the Internet (Digital Rights Management and Privacy). It enables consumers to enjoy content while ensuring that producers and retailers are properly rewarded. Encryption is a form of protection for securing digital content. It scrambles e-mail message or file and appears as gibberish, to anyone who doesn’t know how to unscramble it. (Iannela, par1-2). This is a great benefit for private information to transmit and be distributed without the fear it will be examined by outsiders. For example all details about accounts can be protected, such as: numbers, passwords and balances can remain private.

In addition, “Digital Signatures” are also another DRM technology. It allows a message to travel unencrypted while the author’s signature is encrypted (Ianella, 1). “Digital Watermarking” is another form of DRM technology. This device lets you embed a signature of additional information into the content. This allows content to be tracked and is designed to prevent piracy of works purchased online or through other digital media.

=Digital Rights Management (DRM) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)=


 * DRM technologies allow users to view and manage content in a controlled fashion.
 * For example, a DRM system may allow a piece of recorded music to be played but not copied
 * The DMCA provides a legal infrastructure for control of piracy activities, enabled by DRM.
 * The DMCA, for the first time in history, does not make the copyright the crime but rather the creation of tools to violate copyright became the crime.
 * This of course is not without controversy itself, as it brings up questions of whether user rights, such as the now infamous right of “fair use” have been violated.

=Works Cited=

Clark, Drew. "How Copyright Became Controversial." __National Journal of Technology__ 43 (2003): 1-12. 11 Nov. 2005

[|Iannella], Renato. “Digital Rights Management (DRM) Architectures”. D-Lib Magazine. Retrieved on February 16th, 2006. Online at: .

“Digital Rights Management and Privacy.” EPIC Privacy Page. Retrieved on February 18th, 2006. Online at: .