[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #283: DRM on a diet

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #283: DRM on a diet
May 23rd, 2012

<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/lock_unlocked.png>At 
the end of last week, there was an interesting development among ebook 
publishers. The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), which 
includes several major publishers, issued an invitation to talk about 
"Lightweight DRM." Current ebook Digital Rights Management is anything 
but lightweight; the protective ebook encryption is so heavy you can't 
read a Kindle ebook on a Nook, for example. But consumer unhappiness 
seems to be pushing a change.

  * ePub standards body proposes new 'lightweight' DRM for ebook
    platform interoperability
    <http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/19/3029793/epub-standards-body-lightweight-drm-ebooks>
    (The Verge/Bryan Bishop) "The new ePub DRM would offer a
    standardized approach, providing enough protection to deter casual
    file sharing without causing so much hassle as to be inconvenient to
    users. The proposal calls for a password-based solution that would
    work on a device even if no internet connection was present - or if
    the ebook distributor themselves no longer existed."
  * IDPF proposes less-restrictive DRM standard
    <http://www.teleread.com/drm/ipdf-proposes-less-restrictive-drm-standard/>
    (TeleRead/Chris Meadows) "The problem I see with this idea is, who
    exactly is going to use it? [Bill] Rosenblatt points to vendor
    lock-in as one of the problems with current DRM implementations, but
    from the point of view of the /vendors/ (who are the ones who
    actually decide what DRM they use) that's a /feature/-exactly the
    /opposite/ of a problem. And up to now, copyright holders have seen
    restrictiveness of DRM as a feature as well. Who's going to make
    them move to something lighter?"
  * EPUB Lightweight Content Protection: Use cases & requirements
    <http://idpf.org/epub-content-protection> (International Digital
    Publishing Forum/Bill Rosenblatt) "Finally, heavyweight DRM has
    generated significant resistance from consumers and consumer
    advocates, particularly in paid content business models, and this
    resistance has increased over time. Consumers object to intrusion
    (...), the technical and user experience glitches that are more
    likely to appear with more complex technology, and restrictions on
    content usage that correspond to usages of physical products to
    which they are accustomed (or which should be allowed by law)."
  * e-Books may take a page out of digital music's book
    <http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/05/e-books-may-take-a-page-out-of-digital-musics-book/>
    (Ars Technica/Megan Geuss) "It seems more people will buy e-books if
    they can transfer them between devices, or if DRM was easier to
    understand. At a recent conference
    <http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/05/exercises-in-democracy-building-a-digital-public-library/>
    held by the Digital Public Library of America, Internet Archive
    founder Brewster Kahle answered an audience member who asked 'what
    will it take for publishers to nix DRM?' 'Wanting to have a business
    at the end of the day?' Kahle answered sarcastically."

*/Library lending fact:/*

The second use case in the IDPF statement of requirements 
<http://idpf.org/epub-content-protection> outlines a process for 
borrowing an ebook with lightweight DRM from a library, reading it on 
one device, transferring it to another device, and sharing it with a 
friend.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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