DRM, Vista, and Your Rights

Submitted by Andrzej Ptak 2007-01-24 Legal 17 Comments

“In the US, France and a few other countries it is already forbidden to play legally purchased music or videos using GNU/Linux media players. Sounds like sci-fi? Unfortunately not. And it won’t end up on multimedia only. Welcome to the the new era of DRM!” Update: Norway’s consumer ombudsman has ruled that Apple’s Fairplay DRM is illegal. This follows the news that France and Germany have sided with Norway.

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Thom Holwerda

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17 Comments

2007-01-25 12:28 am

DittoBox
In the “Apple’s Fiarplay DRM is illegal.” link, Fairplay is spelled with the ‘i’ and the first ‘a’ backwards.

🙂

2007-01-25 8:38 pm

dusik
>> “In the “Apple’s Fiarplay DRM is illegal.” link, Fairplay is spelled with the ‘i’ and the first ‘a’ backwards.”

@DittoBox: Sounds like playing with fiar

2007-01-25 12:29 am

rox
Kinda *NIX is doomed.. Velcome Vista..
2007-01-25 12:37 am

flanque
Legals aside, one thing that has been proven time and time again is that people find a way around whatever access control is put in place, to ensure fair use of what they paid for. This wont end, regardless of DRM.

Having my rights stamped on doesn’t encourage me to purchase and use digital media in greater volume. It encourages me to ensure that I will not be walked over.
2007-01-25 12:49 am

Phloptical
….played through Linux apps? Really? I wasn’t aware of that. I feel so ashamed….I think I’ll throw in a movie on my ubuntu box as soon as I’m done the post.
2007-01-25 12:54 am

tomcat
I really like that I’m getting a quality multimedia experience!
2007-01-25 1:15 am

unclefester
Sorry folks it isn’t the RIAA or Hollywood that matters – it is the porn industry. Most porn is made as cheaply as possible using consumer video equipment. When the dudes using bittorrent find they can’t play pirated prOn on Vista they will totally shun it. The pormeisters will simply re-encode in a free format and provide a codec download link. Much of the failure of Betamax was due to the anti porn stance of Sony. Porn is low resolution for low bandwith downloads – no need for Bluray or HDTV either.

2007-01-25 6:27 am

butters
More like anything other than Vista is doomed. You’re completely reversing the issues here. The content protection in Vista will be necessary to view protected content. Any operating system that doesn’t support the content protection schemes won’t be able to play protected content, even on a protected hardware output path.

Will the porn industry be quick to adopt HDCP-protected media? I don’t know. But I do know that, when it comes to DRM being shoved down our throats, it’s always the RIAA or MPAA that matters. Anyone who tells you that Microsoft or Apple paid Big Media loads of cash for the rights to design DRM systems to lock-in their customers is delusional.

DRM is Big Media’s ploy to make us pay over and over again for the same content. Microsoft is little more than a means to this end–an important cog in the media distribution systems. The RIAA actually screwed up with iTunes and ended up giving Apple way too much control. But they learned their lesson.

The consumer electronics industry rolled over. The OS vendors rolled over. Congress rolled over. They had to. When your business is delivering media (which is really what government is about), and one lobbying group represents the vast majority of mainstream media, and they set new rules for delivering their content… you do what they say.

I know it is hard to believe that anyone has more power than Microsoft or even the US Government. But in an information economy, the media monopolist rules with an iron fist.

2007-01-25 4:25 am

Tyr.
A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection – http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

“Executive Executive Summary

The Vista Content Protection specification could very well constitute the longest suicide note in history”

2007-01-25 8:07 am

Messere
A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection –

2007-01-25 4:33 am

trenchsol
Someone advised me to give up PC as an entertainment device, and use it only for work. Devices like Playstation 3 can play music, movies, videos, run games with much less effort. Good graphics accelerators are expensive, and content requires a lot of memory, which is also expensive. Work-only PC would be much cheaper.

I wonder, isn’t it a way to go, having two separate devices, instead of one box…..

DG

2007-01-25 6:04 am

ari-free
who told you that? could it be this guy?

http://www.apple.com/getamac/

2007-01-25 4:34 pm

trenchsol
I don’t think so. What it has to do with my question ? I think that nice “office” PC, with cheap peripherals integrated on the motherboard + console cost roughly equal to some expensive PC-monster that is going to be outdated in six months (or MAC, too).

DG

2007-01-25 5:36 am

SK8T
what the hell!

2007-01-25 7:00 am

Haicube
I hate to bring up Iraq in all this, but I simply can’t help myself doing just that.

I thought one of the main reasons the “west” invaded Iraq was that Iraq was ruled by a dictator and it’s time to make it more “democratic” so it’s not a threat anymore. (NOTE: Bare with me here, I’m not taking a stand, I’m getting to something).

In the meanwhile, the US incorporate laws to surveille all citizens no matter suspected of something or not, by tapping phonelines, checking their mail etc. Sweden just approved the same by saying that ALL international traffic will be surveilled by the army. Similar to the US, and Soviet Union and East Germany at the time. Just like Iran doesn’t do this (hilarious ain’t it).

Now in the name of democracy and free speech, we remove you the right to OWN your purchased property, such as videos and CDs by forcing you to do what the authority says.

So let’s see here.

Free speech… removed way back

The right to own … currently being removed

The right to choose … Nope can’t have any of that. It’s gonna be ONE Operating system ONE media player and it MUST be what the authority says.

Why am I getting the feeling here that ALL good things democracy brought with it is suddenly changing (Very rapidly) into what it’s supposed to ensure not to become?

DRM is ONE brick in a big game…

2007-01-25 8:16 am

unclefester
The US represents only 5% of the global poulation and 10% of the global economy. The EU has a 50% larger population and a bigger economy.

What the American people and politicians don’t understand is that the other 95% of the population aren’t interested or are actively opposed to what American politicians and corporations want. The power of the US to intimidate foreign governments is waning fast. I seriously doubt any Russian court would take action against copyright infringement at the behest of the RIAA.

I expect that DRM will actually become illegal in many countries forcing MS to sell a modified version of Vista.

All that DRM will mean is that Americans and Canadians will suffer under DRM. The rest of the world will simply carry on selling pirated music and movies as always.

Novell may suffer but other distros based elsewhere will thrive.

Edited 2007-01-25 08:28

2007-01-25 6:50 pm

oracle2025
IMHO lots of this “playing this and that Media in Linux” is forbidden and illegal is just FUD.

While you might call it a “gray” Area, I am not even sure that it is gray.

Seriously, as long as you do not copy your DVDs and CDs, and upload them to the internet, sell them…etc. you can do with them what ever you want in your own house.