DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT AND LIBRARIES
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DRM: A Brief Introduction
"Digital Rights Management" is a term used for
technologies that control how digital content is used. While copyright holders
have exclusive rights of copyright--such as the right to make a copy or the
right to distribute a work to the public--thus far they have not had the right
to control how works care used (the right to see a work, for example, or to
read a work). In addition, fair use, a statutory exemption to the copyright
law, allows users to exercise a copyright under certain conditions. These user
privileges are threatened by DRM. Copyright holders (for their part) have acted
in response to the proliferation of digital content, where the 100th copy is
as pure as the first, and the Internet, which enables the instantaneous distribution
of digital content. The development of digital content along with the Internet
has propelled content owners and users into a new arena where each is adjusting
to ensure, assert and in some cases enhance their rights.
Content owners are looking to DRM technologies as a means
to control the use of their content. Many public interest organizations, however,
fear that DRM technologies will be "used by copyright owners to erode capabilities
that had previously been permitted to the public by copyright law under the
"fair use" doctrine (or its cousins, such as first sale or limited
term)" (Electronic Frontier Foundation). DRM technologies can be used for
more nefarious purposes such as infringing on privacy, personal profiling, price
discrimination based on personally-identifiable information and stymieing the
development of open source software. For libraries, DRM technologies can additionally
impact first-sale, preservation activities, and institute pay-per-use pricing.
The entertainment industry, led primarily by the Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA), is actively pursuing DRM-friendly
policy initiatives through federal legislation
and regulations, the courts
and standards organizations. The consumer electronics
and the information technology industries are also joining the debate because
their products would need to be redesigned to meet the entertainment industry
needs. Profits, business models, and the implications of technology mandates
are driving this part of the debate. Meanwhile, libraries, educational institutions
(K-12 and higher education), and consumers will be greatly impacted by any decisions
made by the federal government, courts and standards bodies. These public
advocacy groups have broadened the policy debate to include user rights
such as privacy, fair use, first-sale and preservation, etc. They will continue
to play a significant role as discussions continue.
There is no one definition for DRM. In fact, depending
on the outlook of the individual or group defining the term, it can have a number
of connotations. Consider the following:
§ "Digital rights management technologies are
aimed at increasing the kinds and/or scope of control that rights-holders can
assert over their intellectual property assets." --Electronic
Frontier Foundation
§ "DRM must be about the "digital management
of rights" not the "management of digital rights."--W3C
Workshop Report on DRM for the Web
§ "The purpose of DRM technology is to control
access to, track and limit uses of digital works."--The American Library
Association
§ "DRM are the technologies, tools and processes
that protect intellectual property during digital content commerce..."
--Publishers' Requirements for DRM, W3C Workshop Report on DRM for the
Web
§ "DRM systems restrict the use of digital files
in order to protect the interests of copyright holders." --Electronic
Privacy Information Center
DRM: Statement of Library and Higher Education
Concerns
April 2003
The unimpeded flow of information is fundamental to the mission and activities
of both higher education and libraries, making Digital Rights Management a complex
and challenging activity in these domains. In the higher education and library
arenas, DRM is interpreted broadly as encompassing much more than restricting
access to content. It is recognized that a variety of DRM solutions are needed.
These solutions need to implement intellectual property management in more comprehensive
and sophisticated ways than current DRM implementations, including:
- Supporting libraries and the higher education community not just as users
but also as creators and owners of copyright-protected content;
- Enabling the documentation and declaration of rights and permissions for
both analog and digital resources;
- Supporting fair use, and other library and education exemptions, and not
applying ex ante enforcements that disable use;
- Supporting rights and permissions throughout the life cycle of a resource;
- Accommodating the interactive and dynamic nature of much eLearning and digital
content;
- Supporting the heterogeneous applications and uses of digital content in
higher education - eLearning, digital libraries, online collaboration, and
institutional repositories, for example; and
- Supporting the preservation and archival roles of libraries.
These functions need to be performed without compromising computer security
while enabling institutions of higher education and libraries to protect the
privacy of their users. A consortium of librarians, information technologists,
copyright law experts and public interest groups is currently drafting principles
that will provide the foundation for this broader application of DRM. This is
the first important step in the development of a DRM model to satisfy the requirements
of the research, education and public information sectors.
Prepared on behalf of American Library Association, American
Association of Law Libraries, Association of Research Libraries, Internet2,
and EDUCAUSE, for the Congressional Internet Caucus program on Digital Rights
Management, April 2003. Based largely on work of Grace Agnew, Rutgers University,
and Mairead Martin, University of Wisconsin.
Links
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
http://www.eff.org
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
http://www.epic.org
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
http://www.mpaa.org/home.htm
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
http://www.riaa.org/
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
http://www.w3.org
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