Open Source DRM

Slashdot 上看到 Sun 在搞 Open Source DRM 的消息：Sun Spearheads Open DRM。

不過如果我對於 DRM 的概念沒錯的話，這種東西 Open Source 出來不就等於廢了？除非他的 "DRM" 還包括了 Watermarking 的技術 (換句話說，每個 user 拿到的東西都不一樣)，但就算這樣，目前也沒有任何一個 Watermarking 能承受公開攻擊。

就學理上而言，Open Source DRM 目前不存在任何效果。

不過，就社會價值而言，這篇 Comment 寫得很精彩：Re:Oh good grief...：(其實整篇都寫得很好...)

Copyright is basically a pricing issue. After an agreed period of time, the material goes out of copyright and into public domain. Preventing material from entering public domain is the real theft. These people are the real thieves. And in a civilized society, thieves don't get to decide what the property laws are going to be.

These guys plan to use DRM to deny forever any material entering the public domain. We have a duty to future generations to remove the DRM from any material encoded on any digital format, regardless of how old or new it is or who believes that they 'own' it.

These guys don't control the information age; we control the information age. Because we created it. If we don't want DRM, DRM won't exist.

其中最有名的惡搞例子應該是 "THE MOUSE THAT ATE THE PUBLIC DOMAIN" 這篇：Disney 以及利益團體把著作權有效期限從死後五十年改成死後七十年，而使得 2003 年到期的 Mickey Mouse...

再回過頭來看 Tim Bray (目前在 Sun Microsystem 工作) 對 Open Source DRM 的看法：

What all the DRM dreamers don’t want to admit is that 95% or more of the population hasn’t yet encountered DRM, and when they do, they aren’t going to like it. They’re going to scream and scream and scream and get mad as hell and not take it any more.

連 Sun 的員工都這樣講了... (狂笑)