Digital rights management

Digital rights management (DRM)1 is an umbrella term referring to any of several technical methods used to control or restrict the use of digital media content on electronic devices with such technologies installed. The media most often restricted by DRM techniques include music, visual artwork, computer and video games, and movies.

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Some digital media content publishers claim DRM technologies are necessary to prevent revenue loss due to illegal duplication of their copyrighted works. However, others, including civil libertarians, argue that transferring control of the use of media from consumers to a consolidated media industry will lead to loss of existing user rights and stifle innovation in software and cultural productions.

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No current DRM technology includes a mechanism to enable fair use rights per se; the content publisher may choose to allow some acts of copying, which may (or may not) align with legal use rights. Arguably, a technology cannot, in principle, know what legal restrictions and rights apply in a specific jurisdiction, usage context, under an external contract, or to an individual author, owner, or publisher.

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