> People tend to avoid effort, and if you can make pirating content more difficult than obtaining it legitimately, most people will obtain it legitimately.
The problem with DRM is that with information, it doesn't matter if it's more difficult for any given user to pirate. It only takes one person to make a copy of it without DRM, and they can then share it, and now nothing can stop anyone from viewing it. At least, that's the case without horribly repressive measures that don't allow anyone to view their own media.
All the DRM does is make legitimate use harder. If you want to find a free copy, you can; but if you're a legitimate user, and want to make a backup of your DVD? Nope, sorry, people aren't allowed to sell tools to help you do that. Want to capture a few seconds to comment on? Nope, sorry, people can't legitimately distribute tools that allow that. Want to skip the stupid previews? Nope sorry, also illegal.
The problem with DRM is that if it doesn't work perfectly, all of the bad things that it's trying to prevent can still happen, and in the meantime, tons of legitimate uses are banned, and we start to produce technology that is oppressive and works against the interests of its users.
The problem with DRM is that with information, it doesn't matter if it's more difficult for any given user to pirate. It only takes one person to make a copy of it without DRM, and they can then share it, and now nothing can stop anyone from viewing it. At least, that's the case without horribly repressive measures that don't allow anyone to view their own media.
All the DRM does is make legitimate use harder. If you want to find a free copy, you can; but if you're a legitimate user, and want to make a backup of your DVD? Nope, sorry, people aren't allowed to sell tools to help you do that. Want to capture a few seconds to comment on? Nope, sorry, people can't legitimately distribute tools that allow that. Want to skip the stupid previews? Nope sorry, also illegal.
The problem with DRM is that if it doesn't work perfectly, all of the bad things that it's trying to prevent can still happen, and in the meantime, tons of legitimate uses are banned, and we start to produce technology that is oppressive and works against the interests of its users.