E-books may get reduced DRM
A “lighter” version of Digital Rights Management (DRM) may be coming to e-books after an association of e-book publishers issued a statement outlining a new DRM package.
Current DRM systems require proprietary hardware and software to decrypt e-books, meaning books bought on an Amazon Kindle won’t work on a Barnes & Noble Nook.
The new DRM system would lower production costs of e-reader hardware, and reduce client-server interactions to verify the e-books are on the correct reader.
A statement released by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) said, “DRM is subject to a single over-arching limitation: the entities that want DRM (i.e. publishers and copyright owners) do not typically pay for it.”
“Instead, the cost of DRM is usually passed on to content distributors and retailers. Apart from its use for ‘lock-in,’ these downstream entities have no incentive to protect content other than as a contractual obligation to content licensors,” they continued.
“Thus it is understandable that distributors and retailers have been highly reluctant to pay for DRM-related features that do not directly benefit them.”
The IDPF said they would prefer to build the light DRM out of an existing format, but would consider building a new format from the ground up if there was enough interest and support.
Read the full story at: Ars Technica
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