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Teaching students how to comprehend The Star-Spangled Banner using annolighting

Teaching students how to comprehend The Star-Spangled Banner using annolighting

By: Heather Corti

Educator, creator of SIMPLY Shakespeare

 

I used my junior American Literature class of 26 students, 17 males and 9 females, ages 16-17 with an ethnic breakdown of: 1 Hispanic, 2 Caucasian, 7 Native Americans, and 16 African Americans. The high school drop-out rate is slightly over 35%.  Relevant characteristics that influence the instructional strategies include a community which is economically depressed as is reflected in my class.  Many are involved in gang activity. There are 3 pregnant females, 4 already had children, and 3 males who are ‘baby-daddies'.  None of my students read recreationally.  And, due to finances, travel is a luxury most cannot afford.  The vast majority are from single-parent households where siblings have different fathers.  Culturally, dropping out of school and or graduating with children is normal.  Change is interpreted as rejecting where they come from and who they are in the eyes of their families and/or social network.   Challenges in teaching I was prepared for include absenteeism and apathy   I cannot expect every student every day, thus disrupting the continuum of my curriculum. 

I have no students with identified special needs.  All of my students are considered ‘main-stream'.  However, based on 4 week progress reports, the student grade averages ranged between a 106% to a 22%.  I figure those with the lowest averages were bored or disinterested.  In an attempt to decrease absenteeism and apathy, I wanted to create a lesson that would make the students want to be in class because the students want everything to be ‘fun' like a game show.  The class is 90 minute every day for 18 weeks.  It's relevant to know that all high school students have a senior project to complete to satisfy their graduation requirements.  The project includes a research paper, a product, a portfolio, and a presentation. Junior English teachers teach the research paper component. In creating a semester's theme, and individual units, I had to take into consideration the research paper, student apathy, student absenteeism, and how entertaining each lesson needed to be while still being effective and meeting state curriculum. By the 4 week progress report, there were students falling way behind.  I could not let this continue.  I created a lesson to actively involve every student while at the same time exploit individual talents, student leaning, and student well-being. 

The long term goals for junior English include preparing the students for their senior project; junior year focuses on researching the paper, writing the thesis, organizing the information into an outline as well as teaching to the rest of the state competencies.  This is appropriate because to write a research paper they will have to evaluate lots of information.  To evaluate information they will have to proficiently comprehend what they read.  Our state aligns junior English with junior history, integrating U.S. historical content.  I decided upon a thematic connection between the research paper and content to be the idea of ‘change'.  I chose this theme because of the recent presidential election.  He too is the son of a single mother and a minority who overcame all hurdles to become president of the United States.  The election was all my students wanted to talk about; I needed to ride this wave of interest.  I also needed to make American historical literature relevant to my students who culturally and ethnically felt disjointed from the American Northern European history. In keeping with state objectives, by the end of the semester the students will write a thesis statement and create an outline on social transformation in America.  So, I focused on the theme of ‘change', how did this country change from colonialism to Americanism?  To eventually lead them into the question, how can I transform myself?  We're reading early American documents written by British Colonialists. I wanted to peak student interest, to expand self-discovery and intellectual growth through literature.  I also wanted to impress upon the students these writings are a social act that grows out of a need to communicate ideas, even to an audience 250 years in the future. I wanted my students to know the past so as to empower them; maybe they can change the course of their futures.  I want them to do some self reflection. My lesson was designed to challenge the students to reach beyond their present abilities and situations; to make a change for the better.

The instructional goal for this lesson was to re-teach the students how to comprehend The Star-Spangled Banner using annolighting. In the beginning of the semester I took the students to the library to research and discovered their comprehension was inadequate.  Comprehension fit into my long term goal of writing a thesis statement and outline. In order to write a research paper they needed to improve their knowledge and comprehension skills in seeking proficient understanding of the material they read; if they cannot comprehend, they cannot create a thesis.  The thematic connection of change incorporated American Literature. The theme of change tied directly into F.S. Key's poem in that he was probably forever changed by the symbolic nature of the flag surviving the battle.  My rationale for choosing whole group for this lesson was to offer direct instruction to the students as a comprehension re-teach.  The previous trip to the library was unsuccessful in that the students wouldn't stay on task. Whole group corrals their attention to keep them focused, motivated, and to make sure everyone was on task. I chose the comprehension strategy called annolighting to meet the lesson's goal because annolighting a text combines effective highlighting and marginal notations to help explain the meaning of a text, helps with parenthetical documentation, tying right into research citation as a way to fit into the long term goals. I felt it was important to show them this interactive way to read closely to improve comprehension, because if there is no comprehension, the students will never be able to evaluate reading materials and write a research paper, which was the ultimate goal.  Whole group allowed me to model annolighting using a think aloud while encouraging student participation.  I asked rhetorical questions to show my thought process.  I was able to slow down the process to a manageable speed so they could learn how to annolight and eventually annolight independently. I also knew using whole group instruction the students could learn from each other.

Whole group was like choosing a ‘pep rally' approach.  I wanted the lessons to be fun and encouraging; making learning infectious.  My enthusiasm stimulates theirs.  It was a purposeful way to foster participation because my students love to shout out and be heard. Using a pep rally approach to teach annolighting through a poem eases both my low end students into wanting to participate, who have a tendency to be absent and/or disinterested, as well as my higher end students who love ‘teaching' their peers. Since so many of my students have poor attendance or are disinterested, the more they feel part of a lesson the more likely they are to do their work.  The daunting responsibility of the senior project has a negative effect on this type of student.  A big project is more discouraging than motivating for them.  I always remind my class that the only way to eat an elephant is one bit at a time.  First we'll learn how to proficiently comprehend.

Specific procedures were:  1) I made copies of the semester's reading materials for each student for the purpose of annolighting in their text.  Plus I always need extra copies for ‘forgetful' students.  2) I provided extra highlighters, pencils, and pens in a box on my desk where the students know they can access them at all times. Again, I need to have plenty of writing utensils available for ‘forgetful' students as a way to keep them engaged.  3) I reviewed the cognitive goal of comprehension; walking up to the Bloom's Taxonomy rubric hanging in the room.  Students need to be aware of the cognitive goal as this will strengthen their reading.  Our goal is proficiency; making sense out of what they're reading.  I asked, "Who can tell me what comprehension is?"  I asked, "who can tell me what comprehension is?"   I reviewed the North Carolina standard, pointing to each level as a reminder during the explanation.  I also remind the students that they will have to work hard to achieve this goal. And, that's ok, working hard is ok.  4) I reinforced the purpose of using a whole group teaching method by telling the students "we're going to annolight the Star-Spangled Banner together."  I wanted all of the students to feel comfortable with the struggle of learning; letting them know that I would lead them through, modeling the thinking process out loud, step by step. Fostering participation promoted student academic confidence and  improved comprehension, a basic component of the senior project.  The senior project determines who graduates and who doesn't. If they don't do this project, they become a drop out.  If they can improve their comprehension, they can finish the senior project. To foster student participation I used their interest to extend understanding through whole group participation and direct instruction to promote student confidence. 5) I reviewed a handout of 18 questions to ask when writing about poetry as a reminder and a way to keep focused.  Presented the material both on the overhead projector and I gave them a copy.  I was reinforcing prior knowledge while maintaining progress toward our lesson's goal. 6) I also chose the informal assessment Q&A seeking constant feedback, again to focus the students.  To foster participation, I used Q&A integrating back-ground knowledge.  I asked the students if they had ever been to either the Smithsonian or Fort McHenry.  Both are only a 5 hour drive straight up I95.  None had ever been.  I hid my surprise that none had ever traveled to such historical places so easily reached.  The deprived exposure to the rest of the region is a great disadvantage for the students.  Therefore, the instructional context was influenced by their limited frame of reference; I planned on using their background knowledge to aid in comprehension.  I brought up the Smithsonian because the actual flag that inspired F.S. Key is on exhibit.  Visualization helps readers engage with text in ways that make it personal, memorable, and tangible. Also, the ramparts are an actual place where they too can walk; putting themselves smack dab in the middle of history.  That's powerful.  I was attempting to tie history into today to make the lesson more relevant.  7) I passed out a familiar manageable sized poem The Star-Spangled Banner to re-teach annolighting in one sitting.  I knew I could annolight the whole poem in one 90 minute class creating a mini lesson to give to absent students who will show up in a day or two asking, "What did I miss?"  Thinking ahead, I can hand them a copy of the annolighted poem and explain the example in a few moments.  What was most evident in the lesson was the student participation.  This class was enthusiastic and willing to take a chance when responding to the think aloud.  They were responsive and engaged.  I guided the students through the lesson asking for a volunteer to read the history of the poem as a way to foster student participation.  Once read, I began modeling a think-aloud, that they copied onto their poem.  I wanted to make the historical literature real and relevant so I reminded the students that we live in one of the 13 original colonies, and within a 5 hour drive of the actual flag and rampart of the poem.  My goal was to make the past present, so the theme of change would seem more tangible and in their grasp.  It was important that the students physically interact with the poem, underline important phrases, write summaries in the margins, and look up any words they did not know.  Annolighting allowed me to view how well they comprehended.  At a glance I knew if they're broadening their understanding, if they were grasping concepts and ideas—comprehending.  I also fostered participation by asking the students to tell me what annolighting, to get them to use their own words, instead of me telling them.  This lets students learn from each other and/or validate themselves. I have students who are extraverts and who are introverts, but all love peer contribution and they love to let me know what they know.  

To ensure equitable treatment I pointed at students who answered correctly, positively reinforcing participation; all the while being sensitive not to discourage any students' attempts to vocalize answers. I verbalized annolighting; every student participated in the think-aloud while creating a teacher-guided student copy. I paired those with the lower averages with a buddy student with the highest averages.  I made sure no student passively witness the lesson.  I'm trying this as a solution to inspire the disinterested students; I recognize there are times I cannot individualize direct instruction.  Students can access their buddy when needed.  During the lesson I responded with positive reinforcement by repeating what was volunteered for all to hear, I challenged them to look up words they did not know, I fostered participation from around the room.  I asked questions affirming they were comprehending the poem. 

The primary teaching material used was the poem, The Star-Spangled Banner. It met the lesson's goal, to teach the students to proficiently comprehend using annolighting as an assessable visual and was an appropriate way to scaffold learning.  I created this lesson as a re-teach.  I needed to alter my plans, to decelerate the pace of my planned curriculum.  Also, to make the lesson multi-dimensional I showed two School House Rock cartoons, No More King and Fireworks, about sparking political change amongst the British Colonists.  They're musical, historical, and fun to watch.  This was appropriate because the light nature of the cartoons accurately illustrated the history.  The fun cartoon helped re-teach history making the students receptive to the literary lesson.  I find I have to teach quite a bit of history. Despite the integration between junior Literature and history, they don't seem to link the knowledge.  My hopes are that eventually they will transfer knowledge allowing more time for Literature. 

I used an overhead projector and a Starboard. I projected the lesson's objective and the questions to answer before writing about poetry off to the side of the room.  I project the poem on the starboard directly in front of the class so everyone could see the think-aloud.   This helped guide the students through the scaffolding helping them comprehend the poem.  I chose this poem because it is our nation's anthem and I figured everyone was familiar with it.  It is sung at all sporting events on tv.  It's a piece of U.S. historical Literature that meets state standards. 

Activities related to this lesson that came before the video segment include:  A) A class discussion over the theme of change.  We discussed the presidential election and Obama's theme of change as a way to transition into U.S. colonial history.  This is relevant when they write a research paper on social transformation in America.  B) We went to the library to begin researching an aspect of American history; I discovered their comprehension was inadequate.  They were incapable of deciphering relevant information because of their inefficient and/or inaccurate understanding of a text. C) A lesson in annolighting a text; a way to combine effective highlighting and marginal notations to help explain the meaning of a text. Annolighting also helps with parenthetical documentation, tying right into research citation as a way to fit into the long term goals. I felt it was important to show them this interactive way to read closely to improve comprehension.  D) We began reading the Magna Carta in whole group. They didn't comprehend on a proficient level.  I used a document that was too long and too non-dimensional because they could not annolight on their own.  E) So, as a back-step-re-teach I decided to use a poem/song they were familiar with, The Star-Spangled Banner.  Poetry met our state objectives, fit into our theme of change, and was much more manageable.  I also realized some of my students needed to ‘hear' what they were reading; I played the national anthem for all to hear.  F) In order to help ground the song historically I showed two U.S historical cartoons from School House Rock called No More King and Fireworks which explain the colonialists' reasons for change.  The lesson to follow was to annolight Common Sense. I wrote teacher-guiding questions that followed the text precisely.  The questions focused comprehension specifically on our semester's theme of change. I told the students to write the question and highlight the answer when found and to write explanations in the margins, which is how annolighting helps with parenthetical documentation.  The students can easily review previously read documents, skim what they annolighted, and find facts, tying right into research citation.  After each part I led a discussion on how Common Sense outlined colonial change, and how Paine's words apply to them today.  Students used their annolighted Common Sense in small group for comic/song creation to show comprehension which required them to use annolighted information.  My rationale for selecting this sequence was because to write a research paper they will have to evaluate information.  To evaluate information they will have to summarize/quote/paraphrase the information and provide parenthetical documentation. This requires them to sift through lots of information they proficiently comprehend.  They will have to prepare the information as an issue of public concern, all the while keeping track of who said what, on what page, and in which source.  I chose annolighting as a comprehension re-teach because it's the strategy I use as a successful reader and an adult with a reading disability. 

The lesson reflects the integration of English language arts strands because the students interpreted a text using several language process in an attempt to teach to the multiple intelligences. They listened to the anthem as a song.  They viewed the cartoons.  They read the anthem as a poem, and they read it for its lyrical qualities.  And, they annolighted to show comprehension, wrote in the margins, deciphered necessary information and looked up words. 

I achieved the lesson's goal to teach the students to proficiently comprehend a text using annolighting.  This lesson was teacher-guided, whole-group, direct instruction designed to model annolighting.  The purpose for modeling was for the students to transition into student-centered learning.  Evidence of the lesson's goals is prevalent through my purposeful encouragement of the students and their participation.  They were enriching their comprehension.  The students called out responses, transitioned from passive learning to engaged participatory learning.  It was important that I modeled the idea that gaining knowledge, as well as insight, from the poem.  The lesson had a practical value; it was a microcosm lesson leading into writing a research paper.  Success was when a student, sitting in the top right corner of the video,  looked up ‘ramparts' and was ready with the definition taking responsibility for the learning process. Comprehension was taking place through oral interaction. Calling out the definition to the class helped other students understand what ‘ramparts' meant and how they can be effective in keeping an army safe during a battle.  Then another boy, his buddy, called out, "like an ambush"; connecting war strategies.  But the most successful evidence of learning was when the female student sitting towards the bottom of the left side of the video realized the Star-Spangled Banner was about our flag.  It took the deceleration of the lesson, annolighting the poem, for these juniors to learn the anthem is about our flag.  Also, they realized our country's reason for using fireworks on the 4th of July, imitating the bombs bursting in air.  However, when we began the next lesson, they couldn't annolight independently, relapsing into passive academics. Sadly, the scope of the lesson's effectiveness was not very broad. 

So, I made adjustments to this lesson.  I took for granted the students had a proficient grasp on the 18 questions from a handout.  First thing I changed was I reviewed these questions more thoroughly prior to modeling the think-aloud.  I did a poor job of linking the 18 questions with the whole group think aloud.  Also, 18 questions are just too many. As part of a lesson correction I focus on the questions that suit the lesson's specific purpose.  Narrowing the focus and keeping the questions visible have helped.  I now keep the handout on the overhead projector during the entire annolighting lesson as a reference; in the video I removed the handout and turned off the overhead projector.  I learned that having the reminder up helps focus the students' comprehension better.  I created a more organized color coding for annolighting.  I really liked using color in the annolighting presentation.  However, instead of using random colors on the Starboard I learned to use a specific color for each of the specific comprehension needs of the lesson; one color for abstract imagery, another for concrete imagery, another for definitions, another for denotation, and another for summarization, creating comprehension out of colorful chaos.   I took the classes on a virtual tour of the Smithsonian showing them the flag.  And I found a website that depicts advantages found in nature used in war—ramparts is one of them. If they can't go to the physical locations, I can bring the locations to them via the internet. Also, in the future I will incorporate more music, more poetry, and more-small group assignments.  I will also spend more time building historical background information and visualizations before moving forward.  I didn't put these elements into the lesson initially because I was depending on more knowledge base.  The class is still struggling with annolighting their texts. I have them annolight all of their reading assignments as a standard comprehension strategy believing learning happens on a continuum and eventually all of them will improve comprehension using it.  And if I consistently use the same primary comprehension strategy, when students are absent it's easier for them to catch up, thus improve their grades and reduce apathy.  The buddy system works some days and other days it turns into a regular social club.  I'll use this strategy until it looses its effectiveness.  In the later lesson over Common Sense, in small groups, they created a little song/comic as a way to show comprehension.  A student called my attention to his text which he had marked up with necessary highlighting and notes for his assignment.  I was so proud because it was through annolighting he realized he had comprehended it.

About the Author

I am a high school educator who is constantly struggling with the clash between student apathy and teacher observations.  I decided to articulate a lesson, or what my rationale for a lesson is on any given day.  Is what I wrote "observable"?  I don't know, but it does require student participation.  I've been a middle school educator and a high school educator, both public and private, in three states.  I've also created a product called SIMPLY Shakespeare. 

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New US Citizenship Test, 2011 (Part 1 of 3)

Digital Rights Management

Introduction

DRM technologies attempt to control use of digital media by preventing access, copying or conversion to other formats by end users. Long before the arrival of digital or even electronic media, copyright holders, content producers, or other financially or artistically interested parties had business and legal objections to copying technologies. Examples include: player piano rolls early in the 20th century, audio tape recording, and video tape recording (e.g. the "Betamax case" in the U.S.). Copying technology thus exemplifies a disruptive technology.

The advent of digital media and analog/digital conversion technologies, especially those that are usable on mass-market general-purpose personal computers, has vastly increased the concerns of copyright-dependent individuals and organizations, especially within the music and movie industries, because these individuals and organizations are partly or wholly dependent on the revenue generated from such works. While analog media inevitably loses quality with each copy generation, and in some cases even during normal use, digital media files may be duplicated an unlimited number of times with no degradation in the quality of subsequent copies. The advent of personal computers as household appliances has made it convenient for consumers to convert media (which may or may not be copyrighted) originally in a physical/analog form or a broadcast form into a universal, digital form (this process is called ripping) for location- or timeshifting. This, combined with the Internet and popular file sharing tools, has made unauthorized distribution of copies of copyrighted digital media (so-called digital piracy) much easier.

Although technical controls on the reproduction and use of software have been intermittently used since the 1970s, the term 'DRM' has come to primarily mean the use of these measures to control artistic or literary content.[citation needed] DRM technologies have enabled publishers to enforce access policies that not only disallow copyright infringements, but also prevent lawful fair use of copyrighted works, or even implement use constraints on non-copyrighted works that they distribute; examples include the placement of DRM on certain public-domain or open-licensed e-books, or DRM included in consumer electronic devices that time-shift (and apply DRM to) both copyrighted and non-copyrighted works.

DRM is most commonly used by the entertainment industry (e.g. film and recording). Many online music stores, such as Apple's iTunes Store, as well as many e-book publishers, have imposed DRM on their customers. In recent years, a number of television producers have imposed DRM mandates on consumer electronic devices, to control access to the freely-broadcast content of their shows, in connection with the popularity of time-shifting digital video recorder systems such as TiVo.

Technologies

DRM and film

An early example of a DRM system was the Content Scrambling System (CSS) employed by the DVD Forum on film DVDs since ca. 1996. CSS used a simple encryption algorithm, and required device manufacturers to sign license agreements that restricted the inclusion of features, such as digital outputs that could be used to extract high-quality digital copies of the film, in their players. Thus, the only consumer hardware capable of decoding DVD films was controlled, albeit indirectly, by the DVD Forum, restricting the use of DVD media on other systems until the release of DeCSS by Jon Lech Johansen in 1999, which allowed a CSS-encrypted DVD to play properly on a computer using Linux, for which the Alliance had not arranged a licensed version of the CSS playing software.

Microsoft's Windows Vista contains a DRM system called the Protected Media Path, which contains the Protected Video Path (PVP). PVP tries to stop DRM-restricted content from playing while unsigned software is running in order to prevent the unsigned software from accessing the content. Additionally, PVP can encrypt information during transmission to the monitor or the graphics card, which makes it more difficult to make unauthorized recordings.

Advanced Access Content System (AACS) is a DRM system for HD DVD and Blu-Ray Discs developed by the AACS Licensing Administrator, LLC (AACS LA), a consortium that includes Disney, Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita (Panasonic), Warner Brothers, IBM, Toshiba and Sony. In December 2006 a process key was published on the internet by hackers, enabling unrestricted access to AACS-restricted HD DVD content. After the cracked keys were revoked, further cracked keys were released.

DRM and television

The CableCard standard is used by cable television providers in the United States to restrict content to services to which the customer has subscribed.

The broadcast flag concept was developed by Fox Broadcasting in 2001 and was supported by the MPAA and the FCC. A ruling in May 2005 by a US Court of Appeals held that the FCC lacked authority to impose it on the TV industry in the US. It required that all HDTVs obey a stream specification determining whether or not a stream can be recorded. This could block instances of fair use, such as time-shifting. It achieved more success elsewhere when it was adopted by the Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB), a consortium of about 250 broadcasters, manufactures, network operators, software developers, and regulatory bodies from about 35 countries involved in attempting to develop new digital TV standards.

An updated variant of the broadcast flag has been developed in the Content Protection and Copy Management (DVB-CPCM). It was developed in private, and the technical specification was submitted to European governments in March 2007. As with much DRM, the CPCM system is intended to control use of copyrighted material by the end-user, at the direction of the copyright holder. According to Ren Bucholz of the EFF, which paid to be a member of the consortium, "You won't even know ahead of time whether and how you will be able to record and make use of particular programs or devices". The DVB supports the system as it will harmonize copyright holders' control across different technologies and so make things easier for end users. The CPCM system is expected to be submitted to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute in 2008.

DRM and music

Audio CDs

Discs with digital rights management schemes are not legitimately standards-compliant Compact Discs (CDs) but are rather CD-ROM media. Therefore they all lack the CD logotype found on discs which follow the standard (known as Red Book). Therefore these CDs could not be played on all CD players. Many consumers could also no longer play purchased CDs on their computers. PCs running Microsoft Windows would sometimes even crash when attempting to play the CDs.

In 2002, Bertelsmann (comprising BMG, Arista, and RCA) was the first corporation to use DRM on audio CDs.[citation needed] In 2005, Sony BMG introduced new DRM technology which installed DRM software on users' computers without clearly notifying the user or requiring confirmation. Among other things, the installed software included a rootkit, which created a severe security vulnerability others could exploit. When the nature of the DRM involved was made public much later, Sony initially minimized the significance of the vulnerabilities its software had created, but was eventually compelled to recall millions of CDs, and released several attempts to patch the surreptitiously included software to at least remove the rootkit. Several class action lawsuits were filed, which were ultimately settled by agreements to provide affected consumers with a cash payout or album downloads free of DRM.

Sony's DRM software actually had only a limited ability to prevent copying, as it affected only playback on Windows computers, not on other equipment. Even on the Windows platform, users regularly bypassed the restrictions. And, while the Sony DRM technology created fundamental vulnerabilities in customers' computers, parts of it could be trivially bypassed by holding down the "shift" key while inserting the CD, or by disabling the autorun feature. In addition, audio tracks could simply be played and re-recorded, thus completely bypassing all of the DRM (this is known as the analog hole). Sony's first two attempts at releasing a patch which would remove the DRM software from users' computers failed.

In January 2007, EMI stopped publishing audio CDs with DRM, stating that "the costs of DRM do not measure up to the results." Following EMI, Sony BMG was the last publisher to abolish DRM completely, and audio CDs containing DRM are no longer released by the four record labels.

Internet music

Many online music stores employ DRM to restrict usage of music purchased and downloaded online. There are many options for consumers wishing to purchase digital music over the internet:

The iTunes Store, run by Apple Inc., allows users to purchase a track online for $0.99 US. The tracks purchased use Apple's FairPlay DRM system. Apple later launched iTunes Plus, which offered higher quality DRM-free tracks for a higher price. On October 17, 2007, iTunes Plus became available at the usual $0.99 price, replacing the non-Plus tracks. On January 6, 2009 Apple announced at its Macworld Expo keynote that iTunes music would be available completely DRM free by the end of the month. Videos sold and rented through iTunes, as well as mobile software sold through the iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch, continue to use Apple's FairPlay DRM to inhibit casual copying.

Napster music store, which offers a subscription-based approach to DRM alongside permanent purchases. Users of the subscription service can download and stream an unlimited amount of music transcoded to Windows Media Audio (WMA) while subscribed to the service. But when the subscription period lapses, all of the downloaded music is unplayable until the user renews his or her subscription. Napster also charges users who wish to use the music on their portable device an additional $5 per month. In addition, Napster gives users the option of paying an additional $0.99 per track to burn it to CD or for the song to never expire. Music bought through Napster can be played on players carrying the Microsoft PlaysForSure logo (which, notably, do not include iPods or even Microsoft's own Zune). As of June 2009 Napster is giving DRM free MP3 music, which can be played on iPhones and iPods.

Wal-Mart Music Downloads, another online music download store, charges $0.94 per track for all non-sale downloads. All Wal-Mart, Music Downloads are able to be played on any Windows PlaysForSure marked product. The music does play on the SanDisk's Sansa mp3 player, for example, but must be copied to the player's internal memory. It cannot be played through the player's microSD card slot, which is a problem that many users of the mp3 player experience.

Sony operated an online music download service called "Connect" which used Sony's proprietary OpenMG DRM technology. Music downloaded from this store (usually via Sony's SonicStage software) was only playable on computers running Windows and Sony hardware (including the PSP and some Sony Ericsson phones).

Kazaa is one of a few services offering a subscription-based pricing model. However, music downloads from the Kazaa website are DRM-protected, and can only be played on computers or portable devices running Windows Media Player, and only as long as the customer remains subscribed to Kazaa.

The various services are currently not interoperable, though those that use the same DRM system (for instance the several Windows Media DRM format stores, including Napster, Kazaa and Yahoo Music) all provide songs that can be played side-by-side through the same player program. Almost all stores require client software of some sort to be downloaded, and some also need plug-ins. Several colleges and universities, such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, have made arrangements with assorted Internet music suppliers to provide access (typically DRM-restricted) to music files for their students, to less than universal popularity, sometimes making payments from student activity fee funds. One of the problems is that the music becomes unplayable after leaving school unless the student continues to pay individually. Another is that few of these vendors are compatible with the most common portable music player, the Apple iPod. The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property (to HMG in the UK; 141 pages, 40+ specific recommendations) has taken note of the incompatibilities, and suggests (Recommendations 812) that there be explicit fair dealing exceptions to copyright allowing libraries to copy and format-shift between DRM schemes, and further allowing end users to do the same privately. If adopted, some of the acrimony may decrease.

Although DRM is prevalent for Internet music, some online music stores such as eMusic, Dogmazic, Amazon, and Beatport, do not use DRM despite encouraging users to avoid sharing music. Another online retailer, Xiie.net, which sells only unsigned artists, encourages people to share the music they buy from the site, to increase exposure for the artists themselves. Major labels have begun releasing more online music without DRM. Eric Bangeman suggests in Ars Technica that this is because the record labels are "slowly beginning to realize that they can't have DRMed music and complete control over the online music market at the same time... One way to break the cycle is to sell music that is playable on any digital audio player. eMusic does exactly that, and their surprisingly extensive catalog of non-DRMed music has vaulted it into the number two online music store position behind the iTunes Store." Apple's Steve Jobs has called on the music industry to eliminate DRM in an open letter titled Thoughts on Music. Apple's iTunes store will start to sell DRM-free 256 kbit/s (up from 128 kbit/s) AAC encoded music from EMI for a premium price (this has since reverted to the standard price). In March 2007, Musicload.de, one of Europe's largest online music retailers, announced their position strongly against DRM. In an open letter, Musicload stated that three out of every four calls to their customer support phone service are as a result of consumer frustration with DRM.

Computer games

Computer games sometimes use DRM technologies to limit the number of systems the game can be installed on by requiring authentication with an online server. Most games with this restriction allow three or five installs, although some allow an installation to be 'recovered' when the game is uninstalled. This not only limits users who have more than three or five computers in their homes (seeing as the rights of the software developers allow them to limit the number of installations), but can also prove to be a problem if the user has to unexpectedly perform certain tasks like upgrading operating systems or reformatting the computer's hard drive, tasks which, depending on how the DRM is implemented, count a game's subsequent reinstall as a new installation, making the game potentially unusable after a certain period even if it is only used on a single computer.

One of the earliest prominent uses of online-based DRM technology in a AAA title was the result of Valve's decision to bind Half-Life 2 to the Steam platform. This was met with considerable protest from the gaming community and a number of legal challenges were submitted, including consumer groups. In some cases, retail houses were required to attach labels to the front of the game's cases clearly stating that an Internet connection was required to activate the game.[citation needed]

In mid-2008, the publication of Mass Effect marked the start of a wave of titles primarily making use of SecuROM and Steam for DRM and requiring authentication via an online server. The use of DRM scheme in 2008's Spore backfired and there were considerable protest, resulting in a considerable number of users seeking a pirated version instead. This backlash against SecuROM was a significant factor in Spore becoming the most pirated game in 2008.

Many mainstream publishers continued to rely on online-based DRM throughout the later half of 2008 and early 2009, including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Atari. Ubisoft broke with the tendency to use online DRM in late 2008 with the release of Prince of Persia as an experiment to "see how truthful people really are" regarding the claim that DRM was inciting people to use pirated copies. Although Ubisoft has not commented on the results of the 'experiment', the majority of their subsequent titles in 2009 contained no online-based DRM since the release of Prince of Persia - notable examples being Anno 1404 and James Cameron's Avatar: The Game making use of the online version of the TAGES copy protection system. An official patch has since been released stripping Anno 1404 of the DRM. Electronic Arts followed suit in June 2009 with The Sims 3, with subsequent EA and EA Sports titles also being devoid of online DRM.

Some most prominent cases making use of online DRM technology SecuROM include Spore, BioShock, Mass Effect and Gears Of War.

E-books

Electronic books read on a personal computer or an e-book reader typically use DRM restrictions to limit copying, printing, and sharing of e-books. E-books are usually limited to a certain number of reading devices and some e-publishers prevent any copying or printing. Some commentators believe that DRM is something that makes E-book publishing complex.

Two of the most commonly used software programs to view e-books are Adobe Reader and Microsoft Reader. Each program uses a slightly different approach to DRM. The first version of Adobe Acrobat e-book Reader to have encryption technologies was version 5.05. In the later version 6.0, the technologies of the PDF reader and the e-book reader were combined, allowing it to read both DRM-restricted and unrestricted files. After opening the file, the user is able to view the rights statement, which outlines actions available for the specific document. For example, for a freely transferred PDF, printing, copying to the clipboard, and other basic functions are available to the user. However, when viewing a more highly restricted e-book, the user is unable to print the book, copy or paste selections. The level of restriction is specified by the publisher or distribution agency.

Microsoft Reader, which exclusively reads e-books in a .lit format, contains its own DRM software. In Microsoft Reader there are three different levels of access control depending on the e-book: sealed e-books, inscribed e-books and owner exclusive e-books. Sealed e-books have the least amount of restriction and only prevents the document from being modified. Therefore, the reader cannot alter the content of the book to change the ending, for instance. Inscribed e-books are the next level of restriction. After purchasing and downloading the e-book, Microsoft Reader puts a digital ID tag to identify the owner of the e-book. Therefore, this discourages distribution of the e-book because it is inscribed with the owner name making it possible to trace it back to the original copy that was distributed. Other e-book software uses similar DRM schemes. For example, Palm Digital Media, now known as Ereader, links the credit card information of the purchaser to the e-book copy in order to discourage distribution of the books.

The most stringent form of security that Microsoft Reader offers is called owner exclusive e-books, which uses traditional DRM technologies. To buy the e-book the consumer must first open Microsoft Reader, which ensures that when the book is downloaded it becomes linked to the computer Microsoft Passport account. Thus the e-book can only be opened with the computer with which it was downloaded, preventing copying and distribution of the text.

Amazon.com has remotely deleted purchased copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from customer's Amazon Kindles. Commenters have widely described these actions as Orwellian, and have alluded to Big Brother from Orwell's 1984. After an apology from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the Free Software Foundation has written that this is just one more example of the excessive power Amazon has to remotely censor what people read through its software, and called upon Amazon to free its e-book reader and drop DRM.

DRM and documents

Enterprise digital rights management (E-DRM or ERM) is the application of DRM technology to the control of access to corporate documents such as Microsoft Word, PDF, and AutoCAD files, emails, and intranet web pages rather than to the control of consumer media. E-DRM, now more commonly referenced as IRM (Information Rights Management), is generally intended to prevent the unauthorized use (such as industrial or corporate espionage or inadvertent release) of proprietary documents. IRM typically integrates with content management system software.

DRM has been used by organizations such as the British Library in its secure electronic delivery service to permit worldwide access to substantial numbers of rare (and in many cases unique) documents which, for legal reasons, were previously only available to authorized individuals actually visiting the Library's document centre at Boston Spa in England.[citation needed]

Watermarks

Digital watermarks are unobtrusive features of media that are added during production or distribution. Digital watermarks involve data that is arguably steganographically embedded within the audio or video data.

Watermarks can be used for different purposes that may include:

for recording the copyright owner

for recording the distributor

for recording the distribution chain

for identifying the purchaser of the music

Watermarks are not complete DRM mechanisms in their own right, but are used as part of a system for Digital Rights Management, such as helping provide prosecution evidence for purely legal avenues of rights management, rather than direct technological restriction. Some programs used to edit video and/or audio may distort, delete, or otherwise interfere with watermarks. Signal/modulator-carrier chromatography may also separate watermarks from original audio or detect them as glitches. Use of third party media players and other advanced programs render watermarking useless. Additionally, comparison of two separately obtained copies of audio using simple, home-grown algorithms can often reveal watermarks. New methods of detection are currently under investigation by both industry and non-industry researchers.

Metadata

Sometimes, metadata is included in purchased music which records information such as the purchaser's name, account information, or email address. This information is not embedded in the played audio or video data, like a watermark, but is kept separate, but within the file or stream.

As an example, metadata is used in media purchased from Apple's iTunes Store for DRM-free as well as DRM-restricted versions of their music or videos. This information is included as MPEG standard metadata.

Table of DRM technologies and associated devices

Name

Used In

Date of Use

Description

DRM Schemes Currently in Use

Personal computer DRM

Windows Media DRM

Many Online Video Distribution Networks

1999+

WMV DRM is designed to provide secure delivery of audio and/or video content over an IP network to a PC or other playback device in such a way that the distributor can control how that content is used.

FairPlay

The iTunes Store, iPod

2003+

Purchased music files were encoded as AAC, then encrypted with an additional format that renders the file exclusively compatible with iTunes and the iPod. On January 6 2009, Apple announced that the iTunes Store would begin offering all songs DRM-free.

Helix & Harmony

Real Networks services

2003+

A DRM system from Real Networks intended to be interoperable with other DRM schemes, particularly FairPlay. Ultimately used only by Real Networks.

Orion/EasyLicenser

Enterprise, business, networking, financial, telecom and consumer applications

2003+

Restriction for applications written in Java, .Net or C/C++ on Windows, Linux, Solaris and Mac

Excel Software

Business, educational, government and consumer applications

2006+

Protection for Mac and Windows applications, plugins, DLLs, multimedia and documents with manual and automated activation, trial and perpetual licenses, software subscriptions, floating and dynamic licenses, network floating licenses and user friendly license release, restore, suspend and automated feature delivery.

Adobe Protected Streaming

Flash Video/Audio Streaming

2006+

The Media-Streams are encrypted "on the fly" by the Flash Media Server (the protocol used is rtmpe or rtmps). In addition the client player can be verified via "SWF-Verification", to make sure that only the official client can be used.

PlayReady

Computers, Mobile and Portable Devices

2007+

PlayReady is designed to encrypt WMA, WMV, AAC, AAC+, enhanced AAC+, and H.263 and H.264 codecs files. PlayReady is actually a new version of Windows Media DRM for Silverlight. Silverlight 2-based online content can be restricted using PlayReady and played back via the Silverlight plug-in. PlayReady is promoted by Microsoft

Portable device DRM

Janus WMA DRM

All PlaysForSure Devices

2004+

Janus is the codename for a portable version of Windows Media DRM intended portable devices.

OMA DRM

Implemented in over 550 phone models.

2004+

A DRM system invented by the Open Mobile Alliance to control copying of cell phone ring tones. Also used to control access to media files, such as video.

Storage media DRM

VHS Macrovision

Almost all VHS Video through the end of the 20th Century

1984+

When dubbing a Macrovision-encoded tape, a video stream which has passed through the recording VCR will become dark and then normal again periodically, degrading quality. The picture may also become unstable when darkest.

Content-scrambling system (CSS)

Some DVD Discs

1996+

CSS utilizes a weak, 40-bit stream cipher to actively encrypt DVD-Video.

DVD Region Code

Some DVD Discs

1996+

Many DVD-Video discs contain one or more region codes, marking those area[s] of the world in which playback is permitted. This restriction enforces artificial market segmentation.

ARccOS Protection

Some DVD Discs

1997?

Adds corrupt data sectors to the DVD, preventing computer software implementing computer standards from successfully reading the media. DVD players execute the on-disk program which skips the (corrupt) ARccOS sectors.

OpenMG

ATRAC audio devices (e.g., MiniDisc players), Memory Stick based audio players, AnyMusic distribution service

1999+

A proprietary DRM system invented and promoted by Sony.

BD+

Blu-ray Discs

2005+

A virtual machine embedded in authorized Blu-ray players that runs a security check on the playback environment to ensure that it has not been compromised. It also performs necessary descrambling of the audio/video stream on discs, allowing the content to be rendered.

DRM Schemes no Longer in Use

Extended Copy Protection

Sony and BMG CDs

2005

Also known as the 'Sony Rootkit'. Although not classified as a virus by many anti-virus software producers, it bore many virus-like and trojan-like characteristics, rendering it illegal in some places and dangerous to infected computers in all. After it became publicly known, protests and litigation resulted in withdrawal by Sony. The US litigation was settled by payment by Sony.

Laws regarding DRM

Digital rights management systems have received some international legal backing by implementation of the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT). Article 11 of the Treaty requires nations party to the treaties to enact laws against DRM circumvention.

The WCT has been implemented in most member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization. The American implementation is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), while in Europe the treaty has been implemented by the 2001 European directive on copyright, which requires member states of the European Union to implement legal protections for technological prevention measures. In 2006[update], the lower house of the French parliament adopted such legislation as part of the controversial DADVSI law, but added that protected DRM techniques should be made interoperable, a move which caused widespread controversy in the United States.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Main article: Digital Millennium Copyright Act

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is an extension to United States copyright law passed unanimously on May 14, 1998, which criminalizes the production and dissemination of technology that allows users to circumvent technical copy-restriction methods. Under the Act, circumvention of a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work is illegal if done with the primary intent of violating the rights of copyright holders. (For a more detailed analysis of the statute, see WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act.)

Reverse engineering of existing systems is expressly permitted under the Act under specific conditions. Under the reverse engineering safe harbor, circumvention necessary to achieve interoperability with other software is specifically authorized. See 17 U.S.C. Sec. 1201(f). Open-source software to decrypt content scrambled with the Content Scrambling System and other encryption techniques presents an intractable problem with the application of the Act. Much depends on the intent of the actor. If the decryption is done for the purpose of achieving interoperability of open source operating systems with proprietary operating systems, the circumvention would be protected by Section 1201(f) the Act. Cf., Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001) at notes 5 and 16. However, dissemination of such software for the purpose of violating or encouraging others to violate copyrights has been held illegal. See Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes, 111 F. Supp. 2d 346 (S.D.N.Y. 2000).

On 22 May 2001, the European Union passed the EU Copyright Directive, an implementation of the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty that addressed many of the same issues as the DMCA.

The DMCA has been largely ineffective in protecting DRM systems,[citation needed] as software allowing users to circumvent DRM remains widely available. However, those who wish to preserve the DRM systems have attempted to use the Act to restrict the distribution and development of such software, as in the case of DeCSS.

Although the Act contains an exception for research, the exception is subject to vague qualifiers that do little to reassure researchers. Cf., 17 U.S.C. Sec. 1201(g). The DMCA has had an impact on cryptography, because many fear that cryptanalytic research may violate the DMCA. The arrest of Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov in 2001, for alleged infringement of the DMCA, was a highly publicized example of the law's use to prevent or penalize development of anti-DRM measures. Sklyarov was arrested in the United States after a presentation at DEF CON, and subsequently spent several months in jail. The DMCA has also been cited as chilling to non-criminal inclined users, such as students of cryptanalysis (including, in a well-known instance, Professor Felten and students at Princeton), and security consultants such as the Netherlands based Niels Ferguson, who has declined to publish information about vulnerabilities he discovered in an Intel secure-computing scheme because of his concern about being arrested under the DMCA when he travels to the US.

On 25 April 2007 the European Parliament supported the first directive of EU, which aims to harmonize criminal law in the member states. It adopted a first reading report on harmonizing the national measures for fighting copyright abuse. If the European Parliament and the Council approve the legislation, the submitted directive will oblige the member states to consider a crime a violation of international copyright committed with commercial purposes. The text suggests numerous measures: from fines to imprisonment, depending on the gravity of the offense.

The EP members supported the Commission motion, changing some of the texts. They excluded patent rights from the range of the directive and decided that the sanctions should apply only to offenses with commercial purposes. Copying for personal, non-commercial purposes was also excluded from the range of the directive.

International issues

In Europe, there are several ongoing dialog activities that are characterized by their consensus-building intention:

Workshop on Digital Rights Management of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), January 2001.

Participative preparation of the European Committee for Standardization/Information Society Standardisation System (CEN/ISSS) DRM Report, 2003 (finished).

DRM Workshops of Directorate-General for Information Society and Media (European Commission) (finished), and the work of the DRM working groups (finished), as well as the work of the High Level Group on DRM (ongoing).

Consultation process of the European Commission, DG Internal Market, on the Communication COM(2004)261 by the European Commission on "Management of Copyright and Related Rights" (closed).

The INDICARE project is an ongoing dialogue on consumer acceptability of DRM solutions in Europe. It is an open and neutral platform for exchange of facts and opinions, mainly based on articles by authors from science and practice.

The AXMEDIS project is a European Commission Integrated Project of the FP6. The main goal of AXMEDIS is automating the content production, copy protection and distribution, reducing the related costs and supporting DRM at both B2B and B2C areas harmonising them.

The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property is the result of a commission by the British Government from Andrew Gowers, undertaken in December 2005 and published in 2006, with recommendations regarding copyright term, exceptions, orphaned works, and copyright enforcement.

The European Community was expected to produce a recommendation on DRM in 2006, phasing out the use of levies (compensation to rights holders charged on media sales for lost revenue due to unauthorized copying) given the advances in DRM/TPM technology. However, opposition from the member states, particularly France, have now made it unlikely that the recommendation will be adopted.[citation needed]

Controversy

DRM opposition

A parody on the Home Taping Is Killing Music logo.

Many organizations, prominent individuals, and computer scientists are opposed to DRM. Two notable DRM critics are John Walker, as expressed for instance, in his article The Digital Imprimatur: How big brother and big media can put the Internet genie back in the bottle, and Richard Stallman in his article The Right to Read and in other public statements: "DRM is an example of a malicious feature - a feature designed to hurt the user of the software, and therefore, it's something for which there can never be toleration". Professor Ross Anderson of Cambridge University heads a British organization which opposes DRM and similar efforts in the UK and elsewhere. Cory Doctorow, a prominent writer and technology blogger, spoke on the Microsoft campus criticizing the technology, the morality, and the marketing of DRM.

There have been numerous others who see DRM at a more fundamental level. TechMediums.com argues that DRM-free music allows for viral marketing, arguing that independent artists benefit from "free marketing" and can then focus on revenues from higher margin products like merchandise and concert ticket sales. This is similar to some of the ideas in Michael H. Goldhaber's presentation about "The Attention Economy and the Net" at a 1997 conference on the "Economics of Digital Information." (sample quote from the "Advice for the Transition" section of that presentation: "If you can't figure out how to afford it without charging, you may be doing something wrong.")

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and similar organizations such as FreeCulture.org also hold positions which are characterized as opposed to DRM.

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure has criticized DRM's impact as a trade barrier from a free market perspective.

The final version of the GNU General Public License version 3, as released by the Free Software Foundation, has a provision that 'strips' DRM of its legal value, so people can break the DRM on GPL software without breaking laws like the DMCA. Also, in May 2006, the FSF launched a "Defective by Design" campaign against DRM.

Creative Commons provides licensing options encouraging the expansion of and building upon creative work without the use of DRM. In addition, the use of a Creative Commons-licensed work on a device which incorporates DRM is a breach of the Baseline Rights asserted by each license.

Bill Gates spoke about DRM at CES in 2006. According to him, DRM is not where it should be, and causes problems for legitimate consumers while trying to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate users.

According to Steve Jobs, Apple opposes DRM music after a public letter calling its music labels to stop requiring DRM on its iTunes Store. As of January 6, 2009, the iTunes Store is DRM-free for songs. However, Apple considers DRM on video content as a separate issue and has not removed DRM from all of its video catalog.

Defective by Design member protesting DRM on May 25, 2007.

As already noted, many DRM opponents consider "digital rights management" to be a misnomer. They argue that DRM manages rights (or access) the same way prison manages freedom and often refer to it as "digital restrictions management". Alternatively, ZDNet Executive Editor David Berlind suggests the term "Content Restriction, Annulment and Protection" or "CRAP" for short.

The Norwegian Consumer rights organization "Forbrukerrdet" complained to Apple Inc. in 2007 about the company's use of DRM in, and in conjunction with, its iPod and iTunes products. Apple was accused of restricting users' access to their music and videos in an unlawful way, and of using EULAs which conflict with Norwegian consumer legislation. The complaint was supported by consumers' ombudsmen in Sweden and Denmark, and is currently being reviewed in the EU. Similarly, the United States Federal Trade Commission is planning to hold hearings in March of 2009 to review disclosure of DRM limitations to customers' use of media products.

The use of DRM may also be a barrier to future historians, since technologies designed to permit data to be read only on particular machines, or with particular keys, or for certain periods, may well make future data recovery impossible see Digital Revolution. This argument connects the issue of DRM with that of asset management and archive technology.[citation needed]

DRM opponents argue that the presence of DRM violates existing private property rights and restricts a range of heretofore normal and legal user activities. A DRM component would control a device a user owns (such as a Digital audio player) by restricting how it may act with regards to certain content, overriding some of the user's wishes (for example, preventing the user from burning a copyrighted song to CD as part of a compilation or a review). An example of this effect may be seen in Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system in which content is disabled or degraded depending on the DRM scheme's evaluation of whether the hardware and its use are 'secure'. All forms of DRM depend on the DRM enabled device (e.g., computer, DVD player, TV) imposing restrictions that (at least by intent) cannot be disabled or modified by the user. Key issues around digital rights management such the right to make personal copies, provisions for persons to lend copies to friends, provisions for service discontinuance, hardware agnosticism, contracts for public libraries, and customers protection against one-side amendments of the contract by the publisher have not been fully addressed.[citation needed] It has also been pointed out that it is entirely unclear whether owners of content with DRM are legally permitted to pass on their property as inheritance to another person.

Tools like FairUse4WM have been created to strip Windows Media of DRM restrictions.

Valve Corporation President Gabe Newell also stated "most DRM strategies are just dumb" because they only decrease the value of a game in the consumer's eyes. Newell's suggests pairing DRM with "[creating] greater value for customers through service value", and stopped short of repudiating Valve's DRM system, known as Steam. However, Mr. Newell's anti-DRM rhetoric flies in the face of Steam's own copy-protection strategy, which is actually a form of DRM.

"DRM-Free"

Due to the strong opposition that exists to DRM, many companies and artists have begun advertising their products as "DRM-Free".

Most notably, Apple began selling "DRM-Free" music through their iTunes store in April 2007. It was later revealed that the DRM-Free iTunes files were still embedded with each user's account information, a technique called Digital watermarking generally not regarded as DRM. In January 2009, iTunes began marketing all of their songs as "DRM-Free", however iTunes continues to use DRM on movies, TV shows, ringtones, and audiobooks.

Impossible task

The famous cryptographer and security guru Bruce Schneier has written about the futility of digital copy prevention and says it's an impossible task. He says "What the entertainment industry is trying to do is to use technology to contradict that natural law. They want a practical way to make copying hard enough to save their existing business. But they are doomed to fail." He has also described trying to make digital files uncopyable as being like "trying to make water not wet".

Both the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers have historically opposed DRM, even going so far as to name AACS as a technology "most likely to fail" in an issue of IEEE Spectrum.

Shortcomings

Methods to bypass DRM

There are many methods to bypass DRM control on audio and video content.

One simple method to bypass DRM on audio files is to burn the content to an audio CD and then rip it into DRM-free files. This is only possible when the software that plays these DRM-restricted audio files allows CD-burning. Some software products simplify and automate this burn-rip process by allowing the user to burn music to a CD-RW disc or to a Virtual CD-R drive, then automatically ripping and encoding the music, and automatically repeating this process until all selected music has been converted, rather than forcing the user to do this one CD (7280 minutes worth of music) at a time.

Many software programs have been developed that intercept the data stream as it is decrypted out of the DRM-restricted file, and then use this data to construct a DRM-free file. These programs require a decryption key. Programs that do this for DVDs, HD DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs include universal decryption keys in the software itself. Programs that do this for TiVo ToGo recordings, iTunes audio, and PlaysForSure songs, however, rely on the user's own key that is, they can only process content that the user has legally acquired under his or her own account.

Another method is to use software to record the signals being sent through the audio or video cards, or to plug analog recording devices into the analog outputs of the media player. These techniques utilize the so-called "analog hole" (see below).

Analog hole

Main article: Analog hole

All forms of DRM for audio and visual material (excluding interactive materials, e.g. videogames) are subject to the analog hole, namely that in order for a viewer to play the material, the digital signal must be turned into an analog signal containing light and/or sound for the viewer, and so available to be copied as no DRM is capable of controlling content in this form. In other words, a user could play a purchased audio file while using a separate program to record the sound back into the computer into a DRM-free file format.

All DRM to date can therefore be bypassed by recording this signal and digitally storing and distributing it in a non DRM limited form, by anyone who has the technical means of recording the analog stream. However the conversion from digital to analog and back is likely to force a loss of quality, particularly when using lossy digital formats. HDCP is an attempt to restrict the analog hole, although it is largely ineffective.

Asus released a soundcard which features a function called "Analog Loopback Transformation" to bypass the restrictions of DRM. This feature allows the user to record DRM-restricted audio via the soundcard's built-in analog I/O connection.

DRM on general computing platforms

Many of the DRM systems in use are designed to work on general purpose computing hardware, such as desktop PCs apparently because this equipment is felt to be a major contributor to revenue loss from disallowed copying. Large commercial copyright infringers ("pirates") avoid consumer equipment, so losses from such infringers will not be covered by such provisions.

It has been hypothesized that such schemes, especially software based ones, can never be wholly secure since the software must include all the information necessary to decrypt the content, such as the decryption keys. An attacker will be able to extract this information, directly decrypt and copy the content, which bypasses the restrictions imposed by a DRM system.

DRM on purpose-built hardware

Many DRM schemes use encrypted media which requires purpose-built hardware to hear or see the content. This appears to ensure that only licensed users (those with the hardware) can access the content. It additionally tries to protect a secret decryption key from the users of the system.

While this in principle can work, it is extremely difficult to build the hardware to protect the secret key against a sufficiently determined adversary. Many such systems have failed in the field. Once the secret key is known, building a version of the hardware that performs no checks is often relatively straightforward. In addition user verification provisions are frequently subject to attack, pirate decryption being among the most frequented ones.

A common real-world example can be found in commercial direct broadcast satellite television systems such as DirecTV. The company uses tamper-resistant smart cards to store decryption keys so that they are hidden from the user and the satellite receiver. However, the system has been compromised in the past, and DirecTV has been forced to roll out periodic updates and replacements for its smart cards.

Watermarks

Watermarks can be removed, although degradation of video or audio can occur. In particular, lossy compression methods only retain perceptible features of an image, and if the watermarks are invisible, they are typically removed by compression systems as a side-effect.[citation needed]

Mass piracy failure

Mass piracy of hard copies does not necessarily need DRM to be decrypted or removed, as it can be achieved by bit-perfect copying of a legally obtained medium without accessing the decrypted content. Additionally, still-encrypted disk images can be distributed over the Internet and played on legitimately licensed players. Other copy protection methods, such as specific data layout on the medium, perform better in this area.[citation needed]

Obsolescence

When standards and formats change, it may be difficult to transfer DRM-restricted content to new media. Additionally, any system that requires contact with an authentication server is vulnerable to that server becoming unavailable, as happened in 2007 when videos purchased from Major League Baseball (mlb.com) prior to 2006 became unplayable due to a change to the servers that validate the licences.

Microsoft Zune - When Microsoft introduced their Zune media player in 2006, it did not support content that uses Microsoft's own PlaysForSure DRM scheme they had previously been selling. The EFF calls this "a raw deal".

MSN Music - In April 2008, Microsoft sent an email to former customers of the now-defunct MSN Music store: "As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers. You will need to obtain a license key for each of your songs downloaded from MSN Music on any new computer, and you must do so before August 31, 2008. If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play."

However, to avoid a public relations disaster, Microsoft re-issued MSN Music shutdown statement on June 19th and allowed the users to use their licenses until the end of 2011: "After careful consideration, Microsoft has decided to continue to support the authorization of new computers and devices and delivery of new license keys for MSN Music customers through at least the end of 2011, after which we will evaluate how much this functionality is still being used and what steps should be taken next to support our customers. This means you will continue to be able to listen to your purchased music and transfer your music to new PCs and devices beyond the previously announced August 31, 2008 date."

Yahoo! Music Store - On July 23, 2008, the Yahoo! Music Store emailed its customers to tell them it will be shutting down effective September 30, 2008 and the DRM license key servers will be taken offline.

Walmart - In August 2007, Walmart's online music division started offering (DRM-free) MP3s as an option. Starting in February 2008, they made all sales DRM-free. On September 26, 2008, the Walmart Music Team notified its customers via email they would will be shutting down their DRM servers October 9, 2008 and any DRM-encumbered music acquired from them will no longer be accessible unless ripped to a non-DRM format before that date.

After bad press and negative reaction from customers, on October 9, 2008, Walmart decided not to take its DRM servers offline.

Fictionwise / Overdrive - In January 2009, OverDrive informed Fictionwise that they would no longer be providing downloads for purchasers of e-books through Fictionwise as of 31 January 2009. No reason was provided to Fictionwise as to why they were being shut down. This prevents previous purchasers from being able to renew their books on new devices. Fictionwise is working to provide replacement ebooks for its customers in alternative, non-DRM formats, but does not have the rights to provide all of the books in different formats.

Ads for Adobe PDF - Also in January 2009, Adobe Systems announced that as of March 2009 they would no longer operate the servers that served ads to their PDF reader. Depending on the restriction settings used when PDF documents were created, they may no longer be readable.

Historical note

A very early implementation of DRM was the Software Service System (SSS) devised by the Japanese engineer Ryoichi Mori in 1983 and subsequently refined under the name superdistribution. The SSS was based on encryption, with specialized hardware that controlled decryption and also enabled payments to be sent to the copyright holder. The underlying principle of the SSS and subsequently of superdistribution was that the distribution of encrypted digital products should be completely unrestricted and that users of those products would not just be permitted to redistribute them but would actually be encouraged to do so.

See also

Computer Science portal

Related concepts

Compliance and Robustness

Copyleft

Copyright

Cryptography

Data room

Hardware restrictions

ODRL

Privacy enhancing technologies

Product activation

Smart contracts

Smart Cow Problem

Street Performer Protocol

Superdistribution

Tivoization

Trusted Computing

Voluntary Collective Licensing

XrML

Organizations

European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations

Trusted Computing Group

Motion Picture Association of America

Recording Industry Association of America

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Open Rights Group

Open Mobile Alliance

Defective by Design, a campaign of the Free Software Foundation

Pirate Party, a Swedish political party which is a proponent of free culture and free knowledge

Free Software Foundation Europe

Secure Digital Music Initiative

Open Entertainment Alliance

References

^ "Images and the Internet". http://www.artistscope.com/protection.asp. 

^ Christopher Levy (February 3, 2003). "Making Money with Streaming Media". streamingmedia.com. http://www.streamingmedia.com/r/printerfriendly.asp?id=8306. Retrieved 2006-08-28. 

^ "Digital Restrictions Management and Treacherous Computing". http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/drm.html. Retrieved 2006-08-04. 

^ "FairPlay: Another Anti-competitive Use of DRM". http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/001557.php. Retrieved 2006-08-01. 

^ a b c Cory Doctorow (June 17, 2004). "Microsoft Research DRM Talk" (pdf). craphound.com. http://www.changethis.com/4.DRM. Retrieved 2007-08-17. ""At the end of the day, all DRM systems share a common vulnerability: they provide their attackers with ciphertext, the cipher and the key. At this point,the secret isn't a secret anymore."" 

^ Bangeman, Eric (2006-10-28). "TiVo tightens the DRM vise". http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041028-4358.html. Retrieved 2006-08-11. 

^ Xeni Jardin (2006-12-28). "Report: HD-DVD copy protection defeated". BoingBoing. http://www.boingboing.net/2006/12/28/report-hddvd-copy-pr.html. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 

^ Cory Doctorow (2007-05-30). "New AACS processing key leaks onto the net". BoingBoing. http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/30/new-aacs-processing-.html. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 

^ "Who Controls Your Television?". Electronic Frontier Foundation. http://w2.eff.org/IP/DVB/dvb_briefing_paper.php. Retrieved 2008-01-01. 

^ Lewis, Rita (January 8, 2008). "What is DRM and Why Should I Care?". Firefox News. http://firefox.org/news/articles/1045/1/What-is-DRM-and-why-should-I-care/Page1.html. Retrieved July 10 2008. 

^ McMillan, Robert (May 23, 2006). Article "Settlement Ends Sony Rootkit Case". PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,125838-page,1-c,unresolvedtechstandards/article.html Article. Retrieved April 8, 2007. 

^ Marechal, Sander (January 9, 2007). "DRM on audio CDs abolished". http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/78008/index.html. 

^ Holahan, Catherine (January 4, 2008). "Sony BMG Plans to Drop DRM". http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2008/tc2008013_398775.htm. 

^ "iTunes Plus DRM-free tracks expanding, dropping to 99 cents". Apple News from ARS Technica. 2007-10-16. http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/10/15/itunes-plus-drm-free-tracks-expanding-dropping-to-99-cents. Retrieved 2007-10-16. 

^ Nick Timeraos (July 6, 2006). "Free, Legal and Ignored". WSJ.com (Wall Street Journal). http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115214899486099107-vuoIhGUthiYcFwsQK0DjegSRPwQ_20070706.html. Retrieved 2006-11-27. 

^ Eric Bangeman (December 6, 2006). "Testing DRM-free waters: EMI selling a few MP3s through Yahoo Music". Ars Technica. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061206-8368.html. 

^ Steve Jobs. "Thoughts on Music". http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/. 

^ Ken Fisher (March 18, 2007). "Musicload: 75% of customer service problems caused by DRM". Ars Technica. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070318-75-percent-customer-problems-caused-by-drm.html. Retrieved 2007-03-20. 

^ Ernesto (September 13, 2008). "Spore: Most Pirated Game Ever Thanks to DRM". TorrentFreak. http://torrentfreak.com/spore-most-pirated-game-ever-thanks-to-drm-080913/. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 

^ Andy Greenberg; Mary Jane Irwin (2008-09-12). "Spore's Piracy Problem". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/09/12/spore-drm-piracy-tech-security-cx_ag_mji_0912spore.html. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 

^ http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/12/pc-prince-of-persia-contains-no-drm-its-a-trap.ars

^ http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3173495

^ TinHat (June 2006). "eBooks and Digital Rights Management (DRM), for ePublishers". tinhat.com. http://www.tinhat.com/ebooks_epublishing/epublishers_drm.html. Retrieved 2008-05-28. 

^ a b c d e f Karen Coyle (November 19, 2003). "The Technology of Rights: Digital Rights Management" (PDF). http://www.kcoyle.net/drm_basics.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 

^ Ed Foster (February 19, 2004). "E-Books and DRM". Info World. http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2004/2/19/0515/77045=. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 

^ Jon Noring (2004). "The Perils of DRM Overkill for Large Publishers". http://www.teleread.org/publishersdrm.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-26. 

^ "Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle Devices". New York Times. 2009-07-18. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html. 

^ David Pogue (2009-07-17). "Some E-Books Are More Equal Than Others". New York Times. http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/some-e-books-are-more-equal-than-others/. 

^ "Why Amazon went Big Brother on some Kindle e-books". arstechnica.com. July 17, 2009. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/07/amazon-sold-pirated-books-raided-some-kindles.ars. 

^ Pete Cashmore (July 17th, 2009). "Big Brother: Amazon Remotely Deletes 1984 From Kindles". http://mashable.com/2009/07/17/amazon-kindle-1984/. 

^ Mark Frauenfelder (July 17, 2009). "Amazon zaps purchased copies of Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from Kindles". http://boingboing.net/2009/07/17/amazon-zaps-purchase.html. 

^ Ina Fried (July 17, 2009). "Amazon recalls (and embodies) Orwell's '1984'". http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10289983-56.html. 

^ Free Software Foundation (July 23, 2009). "Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos apologizes for Kindle ebook deletion. Free Software Foundation cal

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