DRM

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iPad Is CD-ROM All Over Again
 iPad Is CD-ROM 
 All Over Again 
OPINION

iPad Is CD-ROM All Over Again

Apple's tablet is a throwback to the days of top-down content control

(Newser) - The iPad may seem like the next big thing, but “it feels like the second coming of the CD-ROM” to Cory Doctorow of BoingBoing . Content makers thought they could repackage their product in a more expensive form and remake media. But incumbents make bad revolutionaries, Doctorow argues. The iPad...

Danish Man Turns Himself In for Copying DVDs

He hopes to test-anti piracy law in court

(Newser) - A Danish man has reported himself to police for copying his DVD collection to his computer. Henrik Anderson is looking to test two contradictory Danish laws—one that allows the creation of "personal use" backup copies and another that prohibits the breaking of DRM, or digital rights management, to...

Wal-Mart Relents, Will Continue DRM Support

(Newser) - Wal-Mart has backed off plans to shut off its DRM server, at least for now, Wired reports. The retail behemoth had warned online music store customers of the upcoming shutdown, which would prevent customers from moving any files they’d already bought. Now, after public outcry, Wal-Mart is relenting—just...

Digital Rules Stymie Library of Congress
Digital Rules Stymie Library
of Congress
ANALYSIS

Digital Rules Stymie Library of Congress

Copyright restrictions make even routine archiving difficult

(Newser) - Anti-copyright laws are irritating not only casual music listeners or movie watchers who want to back up their digital media—even the Library of Congress is butting heads with the rules that forbid the duplication of copyrighted works, Ars Technica finds. And though the library has pushed for changes in...

Audio Books Lose Copy Protection
Audio Books Lose Copy Protection

Audio Books Lose Copy Protection

Major publishers' downloads can be played on all devices

(Newser) - Some major book publishers are planning to remove anticopying protections from digital audio books, allowing customers who download them to transfer the files between their computers and portable players. The world’s biggest publisher, Random House, will offer all its audio books as unrestricted MP3s this month, reports the New ...

Amazon Will Sell Sony BMG Music Sans Copyright Curbs

Fourth major label to join up

(Newser) - Amazon will sell songs from Sony BMG free of digital rights management, making it the first online music store to offer tunes without copyright enforcement mechanisms from all four of the major labels. Many consumers have long opposed the use of DRM because of its potential to hinder playback on...

Napster Moves to MP3-Only Format
Napster Moves to MP3-Only Format

Napster Moves to MP3-Only Format

Site ditches DRM in blow to digital music copyright proponents

(Newser) - Bad news for digital music copyright advocates: Napster plans to sell music downloads as MP3s and stop selling DRM-protected songs, the digital music retailer said today. Digital rights management blocks consumers from illegally sharing music but is unpopular with users because DRM-protected songs will often only play on certain players...

Sony BMG Will Bail on DRM
Sony BMG
Will Bail
on DRM

Sony BMG Will Bail on DRM

Label becomes fourth and final industry giant to ditch copy protection

(Newser) - Sony BMG will begin offering at least part of its music catalogue online without restrictive digital rights management mechanisms, Business Week reports. The decision comes after the other three major labels—Warner, EMI, and Universal—decided to ditch DRM in 2007, challenging Apple's 80% share of the legal music downloads...

Amazon Gets Funky With Warner Music
Amazon Gets Funky With Warner Music

Amazon Gets Funky With Warner Music

DRM-free iTunes competitor continues to attract big labels

(Newser) - Amazon’s burgeoning mp3 service landed another big fish today, adding Warner Music’s catalog to its online store. The Amazon shop aims to compete with Apple’s iTunes, selling songs for 89 cents as opposed to Apple’s 99 cents and without digital rights management software that makes sharing...

DRM Pirates Get Help From Caribbean

Foreign software gets around copyright protection

(Newser) - Digital rights management technologies are doing more for the profits of software companies than the copyright holders they're supposed to protect, Techdirt reports. The new AACS system was meant to stop HD-DVD or Blu-Ray players from showing protected disks, but hackers easily beat it. Overseas companies are now getting rich...

Apple Slashes Price of DRM free iTunes

Songs now cost the same with or without copy protection

(Newser) - Apple has dropped the price of its Digital Rights Management (DRM)-free iTunes Plus songs from $1.29 to 99 cents, the same price at which it offers its copy-protected songs, news.com reports. The move looks like a response to  the September 25th launch of Amazon's mp3 store, which offers...

Wal-Mart Moves to Take a Bite Out of Apple

New online music store undercuts iTunes, lifts limits on copying

(Newser) - Seeking to wrest control of the market from Apple, Wal-Mart today launched an online music store that undercuts iTunes by 5 cents per song. More important, the retail behemoth has dropped DRM copyright protection, which means customers can burn as many CDs as they like and play songs on any...

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