Friday, 8 June 2007

GPLv3, DRM, and Tivoisation simplified

DRM is about restricting access to digital information. It's like building a digital fence around your movie, song or program. Once that fence is built, what's inside can be protected against modification, kept secret and/or admission can be charged.

The makers of the Tivo product have used DRM to erect fences around their products and the GPLv2 software that runs on them. Many authors of GPLv2 software are upset at this, because they see it as restricting access to property they donated for public use. But alas, there is nothing they can do. When GPLv2, was written, fences like DRM weren't invented and this possibility was not forseen. GPLv3 is required to fix this loophole. It explicitly states that, if you are not the copyright holder of a piece of software, you are not permitted to erect a DRM fence around the software without supplying the means to access it (the key to the gate).

What has this got to do with my music and high definition DVDs? Not much really. Publishers own the content and they can distribute it any way they want. If you don't like the DRM restrictions then there are other entertainment options out there. You should probably try them.

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