Digital Rights Management

Right, this may seem like a bit of a mouthful to begin with but it really isn't! Digital Rights Management, or DRM for short, is a way of protecting something you own digitally, such as software or information, from being downloaded legally. It stops people from stealing or taking information online. In America in 1998 the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was passed through Congress and the Act is still in place nowadays along with many other laws on DRM. These laws mean that if you are caught downloading something that is protected you will face a judge. Companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Sony all use DRM to protect their ideas and products from illegal downloading online.

The Debate:

Since DRM was created and its various laws, their has been a heated debate about if it should stay. Companies say that DRM is necessary to fight copyright infringement online and also keep users safe from computer viruses that could be added onto downloaded items. Also DRM helps the copyright holder maintain artistic integrity or ensure continued revenue streams. The people who don't like DRM say that there is no evidence that DRM helps prevent copyright infringement or computer viruses from spreading. They also say that DRM helps big business stifle innovation and competition, because they want to create something similar but is not the same as what is protected. Others say that DRMs are restricting creativity because people are not allowed to edit old things, they also say that future laws should ban DRMs.

Activists are always campaigning for change and recently Cory Doctorow, a blogger, writer, journalist and activist spoke to the BBC about DRM. He said: "The one thing that everyone should have uppermost in your mind when you're designing your business is that computers are never going to get worse at copying things." He believes that DRM should be abolished as it will help companies and it will encourage creativity, and down-loaders will not break the law because it is not illegal.