The Drm Debate

Anti-digital rights management activists dressed in bright yellow toxic waste suits staged what can best be described as sparsely attended protests at seven Apple Computer stores nationwide on June 10.

The group, organized by the Free Software Foundation, carried "Eliminate DRM" pickets and handed out fliers as part of its "Defective by Design" campaign, to draw attention to the restrictions placed on digital music purchased from the iTunes Music Store.

Many greeted the spectacle with the sort of disdain normally reserved for fans at a "Star Trek" convention. But even if the tiny uprising seemed easy to dismiss, it's harder to ignore the increasing calls for interoperability among digital music services and devices around the globe. Apple, as the digital entertainment industry's reigning champ, gets much of the criticism.

The momentum is particularly great in Europe. Shortly after the French government backed away from a measure that would have legally required Apple and other digital music providers to open their DRM systems to competitors, Norway attacked. The country's Consumer Ombudsman and Consumer Council say that Apple's practice of limiting music purchased on iTunes to just iPod devices is against Norwegian law as are the terms of iTunes' end-user licensing agreement. Regulators there have given Apple until June 21 to revise its policies or face fines. Fellow Scandinavian governments of Denmark and Sweden are reportedly considering similar actions.

Meanwhile, U.S. research firm iSuppli issued a report this month claiming DRM is actually hurting the music industry; record labels insist that DRM is necessary to protect music from piracy. But the lack of interoperability among competing proprietary systems limits how legally acquired music can be used and as such reduces its value, explains Mark Kirstein, VP of multimedia content and services for iSuppli.

"There really is no good DRM out there right now," Kirstein says. "It elicits a lot of negative reaction, which is significant because it enables piracy to continue longer and prevents the legitimate business models from becoming viable."

It also drives people into yellow toxic waste suits to spend their weekends picketing Apple stores. Keeping in mind that the geek fringe was the first to adopt digital music and the iPod, it may not be a stretch for the backlash against both to begin here as well.

"The only thing that forces Apple to change their policy is the consumer reaction once they figure out they bought $1,000 of music that's going to disappear unless they get another iPod," Kirstein says. "If you've built a reputation based on the perception that you're cool and hip and a consumer-friendly brand, tarnishing that, it can be very damaging." ••••