Digital rights management (DRM) acts as an access control technology that is used by publishers or copyright holders to restrict access to digital content. This can be done through various ways, including encryption and limiting the number of devices on which the content can be played back.
In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about DRM, including what it is and why it’s useful. So, if you’re looking to learn more about DRM-protected content and how it works, keep reading!
First, we’ll explain what is DRM-protected content and why it’s so important in the digital content world. Then we’ll take a look at some ways that it can help publishers protect their content from piracy.
Finally, we’ll cover some of the most common types of DRM used today so that when you want to find out more about them, you know where to start!
What is DRM?
The term DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. It is a set of access control technologies that are used by publishers or copyright holders to restrict access to digital content.
The purpose of DRM technology is to ensure that only authorized users can use the content and devices they paid for.
It is important to note that the term “DRM” generally refers only to access control technologies. It does not refer to copy protection technologies, which are used by publishers or copyright holders to prevent illegal copying of digital content.
The most common form of DRM is a digital rights management system (DRMS). It is usually implemented as an application or software running on a server. This application controls the use of content by issuing licenses to users, which are stored on their devices.
DRM-Protected Content Requires License Verification
The main objective behind DRM is to prevent unauthorized distribution or copying of digital content. To do this, DRM uses license verification checks to make sure that the content is not pirated.
In other words, DRM-protected content refers to protected digital content that can be consumed on a device only after verification of the license. The DRM technology consists of a set of encryption keys and other security measures, which are applied to digital media such as music, movies, and books that helps the businesses to boost content experiences.
The DRM system allows the content owner to control how their digital goods are consumed and managed. DRM is often used in conjunction with other copy-protection technologies such as encryption or watermarking.
DRM Keys Protect Digital Content
DRM keys are a set of values that are used to protect digital content. They help control access to digital content and verify the license of the user.
They are used to prevent piracy and protect intellectual property rights. With the help of DRM keys, pirates are not only unable to rip premium content off and use it as their own, but they may also not be able to play back DRM-protected content without the appropriate keys.
There are two ways to generate digital keys:
- Generate the key yourself and give it to the user. This is called “self-generation” and is used in offline scenarios.
- Use a license server that manages the key generation, distribution, and management.
DRM Helps Reduce Piracy Issues
As you might have guessed, DRM helps reduce piracy issues by restricting the ability of the user to access and distribute protected content. This can be done in two ways: by controlling how content is consumed (e.g., only on one device) or distributed (e.g., within a certain geographic region).
The first way is called “lock-in,” and it involves making it difficult or impossible to use the content without paying. For example, if you want to watch a movie on your iPad, you have to buy it from iTunes.
The second way is called “geo-blocking,” and it involves restricting access to content based on location.
Besides this, DRM can also help make sure that rented content cannot be played back more than the number of times that has been paid for, meaning it is not possible to rent a movie to watch once but watch it multiple times, as the DRM protection would detect that the movie has been played back once already and will prevent this.
Publishers Encrypting their eBooks with DRM
Besides images, movies, videos, and other streams, DRM can also be used to encrypt eBooks.
eBooks are intellectual property that is widely pirated and used without authorization around the world. Every year, authors lose money because of piracy, spoofing, and other illegal practices.
To combat this, DRM can prevent an eBook from being opened and read by someone who has not purchased the product. While they may be able to illegally obtain the file online, DRM protection can prevent the file from opening and being readable, thus protecting it from those looking to pirate the content illegally.
Digital Rights Management is an Access Control Technology
In a nutshell, DRM is a set of access control technologies that are used by publishers or copyright holders to restrict access to digital content with the help of a Unified Content Platform. These technologies have been designed to prevent unauthorized duplication, distribution, and use of DRM content.
In simple words, DRM allows you to play an audio file on your computer only when you’re connected with Windows Media Player; it also prevents other programs from accessing the same file.
It’s no secret that malware authors want their malicious code spread far and wide as possible so they can infect more computers and make more money off the victims’ bank accounts. DRM helps prevent this from happening and keeps your devices safe.
Conclusion
As we have discussed earlier, DRM stands for digital rights management and it is a set of access control technologies that publishers or copyright holders use to restrict access to digital content protected by DRM.
It has many benefits, including preventing unauthorized usage of digital content like movies, videos, live streams, eBooks, and much more!
Most importantly, DRM prevents piracy and helps protect content creators from those that are looking to use their intellectual property without authorization for their gain.
