Digital rights management, often abbreviated DRM, means managing the ownership and use of digital (computer coded) material. Many texts, pictures, videos, games, and songs exist as digital computer files. Such files are sometimes called electronic media. Digital files can easily be copied from computer to computer. DRM limits people’s ability to copy and distribute digital files, chiefly to protect the rights of the people who created the material.
How DRM works.
DRM typically works through software (computer programs) included in media files, or in the program used to display or interact with the files. For example, DRM software attached to a song file may prohibit a user from creating more than five copies of the song. In effect, DRM software controls how a song’s owner may use and distribute that song. Some electronic media can only be purchased with DRM included.
DRM and copyright.
Musicians, authors, filmmakers, inventors, and many other people earn their living by selling their work. Such work is known as intellectual property. Copyright laws help protect the rights of authors of original works, ensuring they are paid. The laws make it illegal, for example, to make and distribute copies of an artistic work without paying the copyright holders. Before the spread of electronic media, copying music, films, and other media was somewhat slow and difficult. Digital files, on the other hand, can be copied quickly and distributed easily. DRM seeks to limit such file-sharing, ensuring that copyright holders get paid.
Many copyright holders support DRM. However, some artists and lawyers have begun experimenting with new types of copyrights that allow people to more freely share and use creative works. Alternative copyrights, such as Creative Commons, give creators more control over what rights they keep and their ability to freely share some—but not all—of the materials they create.
