Movies want to be free
The Economist has an article this week (also mentioned in Privacy Digest), predicting that the end is near for DRMs (Digital RIghts Management Systems) or at least ones in DVDs. They cite last month's California ruling that Kaleidoscope, Inc., was in the right with their products that rip DVDs and audio CDs, store them on a hard drive (reencrypted) and then video-pump them around the house.
The movie industry disagrees with this assertion and has 60 days left to appeal the decision.
I have a thought for the protective movie industry...F**k you.
I have no sympathy for either the movie or the music business although I am generally sympathetic to copyright owners getting screwed out of revenue. I don't like the music industry because:
- They are not the creators, but the distributers. Distributers are always being disintermediated--that's the nature of technology. Most don't have the wherewithal to twist an entire legal system to preserve their obsolete status.
- The studios need to refine their business model. They make more from advertising and tie-ins than they do from box-office anyway. I'd like to point out that brand-based revenue like toys actually goes up from a higher viewership, pirated or not.
- The entertainment industry's attempts to constrain distribution of digital content is anti-consumer and bucking the trend of modern digital technology, which is all about seamless whole-house distribution and downloading to mobile devices.
The f**k you to the movie studios was deserved. If you want to know how scummy these people are, look at the above ad that they've been running.
Posted on April 30, 2007