What is DRM (Digital Rights Management)?

 Many people may not know what DRM is, but almost everyone has experienced it. So let's discuss what is DRM and how does it work?

What is DRM?

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is the company's effort to fight piracy by precisely controlling how and when you use media. There are, roughly, 10,742,489 types of DRM and copy protection out there, with nearly every company taking their own views.

Corporations claim that DRM is necessary to fight copyright infringement online and keep consumers safe from viruses. But there's no evidence that DRM helps against either one. In contrast, DRM helps big businesses stifle innovation and competition by making it easy to stop “illegitimate” media and technology uses.

DRM has come a long way thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA), which attempted to prohibit any attempt to bypass DRM.

Why Use DRM?

Software and digital media companies spend most of their money and time researching, developing, and marketing their products. However, in this era of technology and connectivity, it is not difficult for people with illegitimate interests to produce and distribute pirated copies of applications, which can be used without paying.

Piracy results in large revenue losses. There are several copyright protection laws (differ from country to country) that prohibit such acts, but even they fail to prevent piracy.

This is where DRM comes into play. The various technologies that fall into this category, establish mechanisms that make it very difficult, if not impossible, to steal products. This prevents unauthorized copying, distribution and use of the product, due to the access controls it enforces.

How Does DRM Work?

Since the dawn of the digital age, copyright holders have worked to tackle the problem of piracy. It was originally software-based, i.e. it tried to stop people from copying computer games and operating systems. As music, film, television and sports move into the digital world, rights holders need to find lightweight, unobtrusive and effective DRM technology solutions to protect their intellectual property.

Many DRM tools operate through encryption, or computer code embedded in digital content, to limit access or use. These tools can control the number of times, devices, people, or time periods that content can be accessed or installed. Here's an overview of how DRM technology works:

1. Digital content is encrypted (also known as “packaging”) and can only be opened with a secret encryption key

2. This key is bundled with a digital license that contains rules about content usage

3. When a user requests to view content (for example, clicks on a show to watch), the DRM client checks the license

4. If satisfied, the user receives a validation token

5. This token tells the encryption key that it is OK to unlock the content

DRM Use Cases

DRM technologies appear in a wide variety of digital materials, from videos, music, and ebooks, to proprietary business information, database subscriptions, and software. The creators of these works are interested in DRM not only to prevent unauthorized copying, but also to prevent people from modifying their work or using it in a way they do not want. Here are some examples of DRM use cases

The Apple iTunes Music Store uses DRM to limit the number of devices a song can play on. Audio files downloaded from the iTunes music store include data about purchases and usage activity, and songs won't play on unauthorized devices. Apple iBooks are protected by Apple's FairPlay technology, which requires iBooks to be read on Apple devices.

Microsoft users must agree to a user license and enter a key before installing Windows or Office software. Furthermore, their DRM technology called PlayReady is used to make the distribution of audio/video content over networks more secure, to help prevent unauthorized use.

A wide variety of businesses use DRM technology to protect sensitive documents, from contracts and strategic plans to confidential employee data. DRM tools can control who can access files and how they can be used. They can prevent files from being changed, saved, duplicated, or printed and track when they are viewed.

And individuals who buy digital content can help prevent unwanted unauthorized use by tracking and complying with related license information. Non-royalty-free images, videos, or audio files often come with restrictions on how, when, and even where they can be used.

Conclusion

So what is DRM? DRM stands for Digital Rights Management which is a technology designed to protect copyright and prevent unauthorized modification or distribution. This is useful for application manufacturers, digital media to enforce access control on their products.

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Resa Risyan

Just an ordinary person who wants to share a little knowledge, hopefully the knowledge I provide can be useful for all of us. Keep in mind! Useful knowledge is an investment in the afterlife.