Re:The purpose of DRM is not to prevent copyright violations...
by Zak on Saturday May 17, 2014 @07:26PM
(#7761471)
Most of the things DRM is used to prevent would otherwise be classed as fair use.
Copyright law was, until quite recently about granting a monopoly on the large-scale or commercial use of a work. At-home copying for personal use was generally legal - even explicitly protected by law in some cases[0]. Same with multiplexing video on different screens, creating backups and skipping commercials.
DRM and legal provisions forbidding its circumvention change the rules quite a bit, stripping away significant rights from consumers. Losing rights one once had might well be grounds for a feeling of entitlement.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Home_Recording_Act#Exemp...
Re:The purpose of DRM is not to prevent copyright violations...
by anigbrowl on Sunday May 18, 2014 @11:17PM
(#7765532)
That's a far cry from claiming you can't watch the show at all, which was what I responded to. As for watching on different devices, I can't say I've found this to be much of an actual problem in practice, and consider the claims about significant loss of rights to be wildly overblown.
Of course, a Ferrari is a physical thing. But every Ferrar sitting in a showroom is one that nobody has been willing to pay for yet. Does that mean you should be able to take it for a ride when the dealership closes at night as long as you have it back there by opening time the following day (ignoring depreciation)?